THE Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has announced that Nigeria is set to add 150 megawatts to the national grid by the end of 2024.
He made this statement today while speaking to State House Correspondents after a closed-door meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Adelabu explained that this enhancement is a result of the successful completion of the pilot phase of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).
“We have completed about 80% of the pilot phase of this project, which includes the importation, installation, and commissioning of 10 power transformers and 10 mobile substations. These have been imported and installed, with most already commissioned. Only two remain to be commissioned before the end of the year,” the minister stated.
He added, “The positive outcome of this initiative has increased our transmission grid capacity by at least 750 megawatts, which is why we are currently experiencing relative stability in the grid. We anticipate that an additional 150 megawatts will be added upon the completion of the entire pilot phase by year-end.”
Adelabu’s remarks come as the national grid experienced its 12th collapse of the year, leaving millions of homes without power. Experts have attributed the frequent outages to aging infrastructure and other factors.
However, Adelabu reassured Nigerians that improvements are on the way.
“Once we complete Phase One of the transmission project, the entire grid will undergo significant changes. We want to emphasize that this grid is very old, quite fragile, and in a state of disrepair,” he said.
“We need to revamp the entire grid to ensure stability moving forward.”