Eighty five billion US dollars is re-quired for the complete rectification of the nation�s moribund power sector between now and 2020 while another N301.3 billion will be required to develop gas infrastructure to power the various power plants that are expected to come on stream between now and then.
Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Power Sector Reforms and Honorary Special Adviser on Energy to President Umaru Musa Yar�adua, Dr Rilwanu Lukman said this in Abuja yesterday soon after his committee submitted its report to the president. Dr. Lukman said the report of the committee, which was inaugurated on September 7, 2007, contained recommendations for attaining short-term power generation level of 6,000 megawatts, medium-term level of 10,000 megawatts, and long-term level of 20,000 megawatts within 18 months, three years and 12 years respectively.
He said his committee recommended the rehabilitation of the power sector in phases because of the enormity of the dilapidation of infrastructure in the sector. “Several years of neglect in the power sector, especially the poor maintenance culture and inadequate manpower support has made the power sector fragile and weak”, he said. Lukman said the average age of all the transformers, generating stations and sub-stations in the country is twenty five years. He added that the poor maintenance culture in the country has worsened the condition of this infrastructure.
Explaining the detailed recommendations of the committee, he said under the short term plan power generation would be increased from its current 1,800 megawatts to 6,000 megawatts between now and 2009 at the cost of $3.5 billion. “For the short term, our aim is to optimize, stabilize and maintain the existing systems. There are a lot of megawatts that could be gained. We also believe by so doing, the capacity of generation can be raised to 6000mw.
We also understand that currently, the transmission network cannot raise more than 4000 conveniently, so because of that, transmission and distribution network must be added to the system. The short term plan is 18 months, from now to December 2009,” he said. He however lamented that even if the 6,000 megawatts was generated, the existing transmission lines in the country can only accommodate 4,000 megawatts.
He, therefore, called for sustained investment in the area of transmission. Said he: “The existing stations would continue to be maintained as and when due. If you do not maintain them, you are going to go backwards. The Federal Government should release timely funds, complete all NIPP projects, give assurance of adequate supply of gas, there will be no vandalism of power transmission and gas pipelines. For the medium and long term plan to be achieved, the short term plan must be successfully completed.
These are the assumptions.” He added, “Short term plan is primarily designed to address the immediate shortfalls both in generation and transmission capacity to achieve 3600mw daily power. What we understood is that as long as these maintenance works are not started, more and more units are going to breakdown. So the first thing to do is stop the rot.
We also emphasize the importance of optimizing the new power stations, so that the three new stations at Geregu, Omotosho and Oronshogbo are fully operational.”
“The grid is very weak, many of the equipment currently are the ones causing many of the power cuts across the country because they are old, they have not been maintained properly and they are aging. We also need to expand the distribution network to accommodate the new power that is coming, and the old power that had been there,” he said. On the medium term plan which is expected to push power generation to about 10,000 megawatts, the committee chairman said there was the need for the construction of at least two new hydropower stations in the country while the various Independent Power Plants under construction should be harnessed. He added that the possibility of using coal, solar and wind energies for power generation would be explored.
A proposed investment of N434 billion was suggested by the committee for this period, which it said would take six years to achieve. Dr. Lukman deplored the inadequacy of qualified manpower to man the country�s various power stations and called for the setting up of a national power plant training institute to address the problem in view of the establishment of more power stations.
President Yar�adua, who received the report, said his administration “will immediately examine the report with a view to beginning the implementation of the recommen-dations”.
He said the Federal Government would “speedily finalize an action plan for short, medium and long term programmes that will form the basis for the declaration of a state of emergency in the power sector next month.”
Saying adequate power supply was essential for the attainment of Nigeria�s goal of becoming one of the twenty most industrialized nations of the world by the year 2020, the president reaffirmed his administration�s commitment to resolving the country�s power supply problems in the shortest possible time. Also yesterday, Secretary to the Government of the Federation Ambassador Babagana Kingibe pleaded with Nigerians to continue to “manage with the epileptic power supply” till the end of this year.Kingibe made the plea in Abuja at a training forum for the use of nuclear power in Nigeria.
He said unless some of the ongoing NIPP projects come on stream, the nation would continue to witness generation capacity below 2000 mw. “It is expected that with the coming on stream of the plans being implemented under the NIPP programme, the total installed capacity may increase by up to 2,500 mw by the end of the year”. Individually and collectively, we all experience the frequent and persistent power outages across the country that is painfully, now a constant part of our daily lives.