FG approves new grid to curb collapses
The Federal Government has sanctioned the development of a new Eastern-Western electricity grid infrastructure as part of its comprehensive strategy to mitigate Nigeria's persistent power grid failures.
Joseph Tegbe, the Minister of Power, announced this initiative at the recent HBSAN energy conference held in Lagos, where he presented a detailed plan to rectify longstanding deficiencies in the nation's electricity transmission framework.
Tegbe indicated that the government is preparing to initiate the procurement procedures for these projects, emphasizing that Nigerian citizens would begin experiencing tangible benefits within a two to three-year timeframe.
He disclosed that the government has commenced a comprehensive technical audit throughout the country to assess the challenges within the power sector and to establish appropriate priorities.
"We have segmented Nigeria into three distinct energy zones. The primary zone accounts for 50 per cent of demand. By addressing Lagos and the Abuja corridors, you resolve more than half of Nigeria's challenges. However, this cannot be accomplished solely through operational efficiency; grid expansion is equally essential.
The President has authorized the commencement of grid development initiatives: Eastern and Western grid construction. We are currently navigating the procurement procedures, but the benefits will become evident within two to three years," the Minister stated.
The minister explained that the technical audit of electricity infrastructure aims to identify deficiencies and ascertain which facilities require immediate restoration or modernization.
He emphasized that this undertaking was designed to ensure that interventions addressed the underlying causes of problems rather than allocating resources toward inappropriate equipment.
“We have started a technical audit across the entire country to say where do we have issues, and what issues specifically do we have. I don’t want to fix transformer issues where I have conductor and relay problems. I don’t want to fix insulators where the challenges I actually have are towers. So, we will finish that technical audit in the next couple of weeks. When we finish it, we then target our prioritised areas,” he said.
Tegbe attributed some of the challenges facing the transmission network to the age of its infrastructure, saying certain facilities dated back several decades.
He maintained that some transmission towers and lines were inherited from an era when the Electricity Company of Nigeria operated before the National Electric Power Authority.
“This government has inherited a problem of 50 years. Before I became the Minister of Power, honestly, I used to think that everybody in the power sector just didn’t know their left from right. But the reality is, some of the towers have gone down with some of the transmission lines there.
“When I went to the site, I saw some of them carrying the logo of ECN. Many people in this room might not know what ECN is. ECN predated NEPA. So, some of these things were built 50 years ago. That is the reality,” he stated.
