PUNCH
Efforts by the Federal Government to ramp up power generation seem to be suffering a setback following the refusal of the electricity distribution companies to off-take the power allocated to them.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, decried the rejection of power by electricity distribution companies, describing it as regrettable. He disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
According to the minister, generation peaked at 5,170 megawatts on Friday, ”unfortunately, it had to be ramped down by 1,400MW due to the inability of the Discos to pick the supply.”
Adelabu lamented the development, saying “This is really regrettable considering that the government is on course to increase generation to 6,000MW by the end of the year.”
The minister disclosed this during a facility tour of TBEA Southern Power Transmission and Distribution Industry in Beijing, China.
Adelabu, who was in China to attend the China-Africa Cooperation Summit, also disclosed that the Federal Government had concluded plans to release $800m for the construction of substations and distribution lines under the Presidential Power Initiative.
The money, he said, will ensure the construction of substations for Lot 2, and substations and distribution lines for Lot 3 at a cost of $400m each.
Lot 2 covers Benin, Port Harcourt, and Enugu distribution companies’ franchise areas while Lot 3 covers Abuja, Kaduna, Jos, and Kano DisCos’ franchise areas.
During an interactive session with TBEA management, Adelabu assured them of the Federal Government’s commitment to working with world-class organisations like TBEA to achieve the Renewed Hope vision of President Bola Tinubu for the power sector, especially in the areas of transmission and distribution, as well as renewable energy.