The Federal Government has ensured a loan of $ 5 million to improve energy distribution infrastructure and increase electricity generation to more than 8,000 megawatts (MW) in the next twelve months.
The general director of the Office of Public Business (BPE), Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, revealed this during the retirement of the Nigerian Independent System (NISO) operator held in Abuja during the weekend.
Gbeleyi, while talking at the event, charged the Niso Management to address the gap between the current daily wheel capacity, which is around 5.500MW, and the generation capacity, which already exceeds 14,000MW. He identified the real challenge as weak transmission and distribution networks.
He said: “In the short term, from 12 to 18 months, we can expand the ability to probably increase 5,500MW by a minimum of 50 percent because the generation capacity is there on the network. Therefore, the capacity can be climbed.
The managing director of Niso, the engineer Abdu Mohammed Bello, was optimistic about achieving the objective of 8,500MW, citing a greater interest of investors and greater participation of the private sector.
“We have many resources. Nigeria taking advantage of these resources together, we can definitely do it. At the end of the day, we hope to see real -time network operations. We hope to see the modernization of the network. The government has granted a new contract for the SCADA system,” said the head of NISO.
The interested parties in the event emphasized the need for commitment, transparency and coordinated efforts between agencies to overcome long -standing challenges, adding that stability, market transparency and operational independence are crucial for the growth of the electricity sector.
Read too Main stories OF Nigerian tribe