NAIJA NEWS
Kano, Katsina and Jigawa are three northern Nigerian states that may start enjoying 24-hours of electricity power supply soon.
The possibility comes amid preparation by the Kano Electricity Distribution Company’s (KEDCO) new core investors to roll out an ambitious plan to build up to 200MW of incremental capacity through 100 mini-grids and embedded generation, Naija News reports.
In a statement issued recently during a visit to a mini-grid site in the Zawaciki area of Kumbotso LGA in Kano State, the board chairman of the company, Adamu Ibrahim Gumel, expressed that in the near future, interconnected mini-grids will be established throughout the company’s network in Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa States.
According to him, the initiative aims to enhance electricity provision to its esteemed customers, while also giving priority to supplying bulk grid electricity to industrial customers.
The KEDCO chairman also added, “We are equally looking at some of our key industrial clusters such as Tokarawa and Sharada for 24-hour supply through embedded generation in line with our vision to enable re-industrialisation and economic empowerment of Kano and environs through improving the reliability and quality of power supply.”
The Zawaciki power plant, the pioneer among many others, was established through the joint efforts of KEDCO’s Core Investor Consortium, the World Bank (via the Nigerian Electrification Project in collaboration with the Rural Electrification Agency), and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Naija News understands.
According to Gumel, the Interconnected mini-grid, valued at $2 million and the largest of its kind in Nigeria, encompasses a 1MW interconnected solar-diesel hybrid solar plant, improvements and restoration of the low voltage network, as well as metering for over 2000 consumers.
Also speaking at the site, a representative from the new Core Investor Future Energies Africa and director on the Board of KEDCO, Habib Daura, stated that “We are in serious discussions with the institutional investors and the Governments of Kano, Katsina and Jigawa to re-capitalise and re-position this entity to be the best performing DISCO in the country.”
