The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) will need about N2.779 trillion to execute its 149 projects scattered across the country, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu said.
Bolaji Tunji, special adviser on strategic communication and media relations to Mr Adelabu, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
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Mr Adelabu noted that the ministry’s total budget falls short of this amount, emphasising the need for cooperation and collaboration to achieve the president’s mandate for improved electricity supply.
Mr Tunji said the minister disclosed this when he appeared before the two chambers at the National Assembly for the ministry’s budget presentation on Monday.
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“For the TCN alone, we will need about N2.779 trillion to enable us to execute the about 149 projects we are currently engaged in all over the country. Our total budget as a ministry is not even up to this but as the saying goes that half bread is better than none.
“I’m telling you so that you can be aware of the kind of money that is needed in the ministry for us to address our electricity challenges. We need your cooperation and collaboration in achieving the mandate of Mr President in electricity supply to Nigerians,” Mr Adelabu was quoted in the statement.
Earlier in his presentation, the minister revealed that when he was appointed, the generation was just about 4100 megawatts and within a year, the capacity increased by over 1000 megawatts.
“We reached a maximum capacity of 5270 megawatts. The improvements in generation capacity were due to improvements in the operation of existing power plants and the commissioning of new plants. This boost was partly driven by efforts to ensure more efficient use of existing infrastructure and completion of some power projects,” he added.
He said that approval had been given for the commencement of the second phase of the Siemens power project under the Presidential Power Initiative with 95 per cent completion of the pilot stage in 2024, noting that the project will energise power supply as it would involve the construction of five substations across the nation and permanently address the issue of grid collapse.
“The federal government is fully determined to address these challenges and issues that have been blocking our progress in our effort to provide electricity to Nigerians and our consumers. Of particular note is the grid collapse, which concerns the obsolete equipment around our power stations.”
To practically address this, he said the Siemens project will come on board in the first quarter of the year.
“We have almost concluded the take off of the project and it will involve building five substations across the country. This will energise our supply so that the issue of grid collapse will be a thing of the past. By next week, we will begin the contracts for the substations to come on board,” he added.
According to the statement, Mr Adelabu informed the lawmakers of the need to address the issue of vandalism as it concerns the electricity assets across the country.
“One other critical thing I want to draw your attention to is the issue of vandalisation as it concerns our assets. It is important we sensitise our people against this act. We must be involved in serious advocacy on this issue. We must jointly address the issue of protecting the power assets. A damage to one is damage to all, especially the transmission assets; they are so interwoven, and damage to one is damage to all.
“In this case, we need the cooperation and collaboration of all our security agencies, the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Police and the Civil Defence. But more importantly, we need the cooperation and collaboration of the office of the National Security Adviser. We are not just dealing with those who steal cables but bandits who use dynamite to blow up towers and transmission lines,” he added.
He said no amount can be voted for this either as a ministry or in TCN that can solve this.
“Our transmission line from Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna which was attacked by these bandits, and which we are yet to put back, was done in a manner as if we were in a war situation. We did not budget for what was spent to put what we could together. How do we manage the protection of these assets? This must be our joint concern, so we are calling for your cooperation and collaboration in addressing this security challenge facing us in our power assets.”
READ ALSO: TCN denies national grid collapse, clarifies Saturday’s power outage
He noted that the federal government is ready to address the issues hindering the electricity sector in 2025.
“We hope the year will be a better one for us in the ministry. As I said before, I want to reiterate that we will focus on this Presidential Power Initiative in ensuring that our grid is stable and does not suffer collapse and when it does, within the very shortest time, it is restored and brought back on board.”
The minister also disclosed that the ministry will work with local contractors in their procurement plans for the year.
“I also want to let you know that we are encouraging our local contractors in providing our materials such as cables, poles and so on. This will help us to conserve our foreign exchange and reduce the transaction cycles we often face while we import. This will save us time in our procurement this year”, he said.
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