Nigeria: Over 40% of Nigerians now enjoy 20 hours of regular power supply – Minister

He explained that some revolutionary steps have been taken to ensure a more stable and regular supply of electricity to Nigerians.

More than 40 percent of Nigerian electricity consumers currently enjoy more than 20 hours of regular electricity supply across the country, said Nigeria’s Energy Minister Adebayo Adelabu.

Adelabu revealed this on Sunday in a statement summarizing the activities of the Ministry of Energy last year.

He explained that some revolutionary steps have been taken to ensure a more stable and regular supply of electricity to Nigerians.

“Moreover, the main achievement is the fact that today we generate, transmit and distribute over 5,500 megawatts of energy, and over 40 percent customers can now enjoy over 20 hours of regular power across the country. You can see it there, it’s a significant improvement between when we entered and the current situation, which we intend to improve further,” Adelabu said.

He said that all these goals were achieved with the support of President Bola Tinubu as part of a renewed program of hope to stimulate the economy.

He noted that the President has consistently reiterated that Nigeria can be great and achieve breakthroughs in industrialization through stable and consistent power supply.

Adelabu stressed that Nigerians must realize that the stability of electricity in any economy cannot be overemphasized.

“That is why we see today the industrialization of large economies such as Korea, China, Europe and North America. Their stability of electricity supply has played a key role in their economic growth and industrial development. That is why we say that we must achieve this for Nigeria as We must achieve the necessary economic growth and industrial development. Our dear President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has included this issue in the Renewed Hope agenda as a major electoral policy of Nigerians.

“In his New Year’s speech on January 1, 2024, he emphasized the need for the country to have stable, functional and reliable electricity to power other critical sectors. Only in this way can we achieve the required economic growth and industrial development. None of the key sectors can function optimally without the stability and functionality of electricity.

“Therefore, our vision is to provide households, businesses and institutions (educational and health institutions, as well as industries) with a stable supply of electricity. This will enable them to fuel their businesses, improve their efficiency and create more jobs,” he said.

According to him, in a country like South Korea, industrial giants like Samsung, Hyundai and LG did not become global giants overnight.

“The government supported them by providing them with stable and reliable electricity. This is the vision we have for Nigeria. Ultimately, a large part of our population will be electrified and industry will be able to enjoy stable electricity, which will increase production and create jobs for our people,” he added.

The minister noted that the mandate of the ministry is to boost national development by formulating appropriate policies and establishing appropriate structures and institutions to ensure or achieve stable, functional, reliable and affordable supply of electricity to households, enterprises, institutions and industries.

“This will enable us to achieve the desired economic growth and industrial development. We also provide overall oversight to ensure the overall welfare of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). This is the mandate of the Ministry. However, we are not doing it alone. We cooperate with our agencies.

“In addition to agencies under the Ministry of Energy, we also operate through 27 power generation companies, including hydropower companies and district heating companies (which are gas-fired power generation companies). There are also 11 electricity distribution companies operating throughout the country.

“We also work with some international development agencies such as World BankAfrican Development Bank, GIZ, USAID and so on. These are multilateral institutions that support the Ministry of Energy,” Adelabu said.

Data

He said that when he took office, the country had an installed generating capacity of 13,000 megawatts but produced, transmitted and distributed only about 4,000 megawatts of power across the country.

In his opinion, this level is quite low and unacceptable considering the population and level of economic activity.

“That’s why we were determined to improve the situation. At that time, there were supplies for people suffering from epilepsy. “Almost all customers, both residential and commercial, could not be guaranteed 12-15 hour deliveries,” he said.

He further said that the adoption of renewable energy is backbone when it comes to solar or wind energy sources.

“From then to now, about a year ago, there has been significant improvement. Our installed capacity currently stands at over 14,000 megawatts with the addition of the newly commissioned Zungeru hydroelectric power plant and the increased capacity of some of the plant’s existing power plants,” he added.