14 December 2011, Sweetcrude, ABUJA – Nigeria’s high voltage super grid electricity transmission project will come into operation by the first quarter of 2012, according to Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji.
The Minister disclosed this during an interaction with his Twitter followers on Monday.
The super grid is a wide area transmission network that makes it possible to wheel high volumes of electricity across great distances and is sometimes also referred to as a mega grid.
The government had last year approved $3.5 billion for the construction of the 700KV super grid to shore up the power transmission capacity to 7,000 megawatts.
It will run along the same route as the existing 330/132KV grid and the government says it will address the nation’s future energy challenges, including transition to more sustainable energy sources, reduction of power loss per transmitted megawatt and improving power voltage profiles across the country.
The minister stated that the World Bank had provided the partial risk guarantee for gas and power projects in the country, which showed its support of the reform process.
According to him, a policy reform had been instituted to liberalise the electricity sector.
Nnaji said by December 31, 2011, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria would cease to exist, but added that no worker of the company would be sacked.
He explained: “The corporate headquarters of PHCN will be shut down. Successor companies in distribution, generation and transmission will function. The distribution companies will distribute prepaid meters. We have also empowered the Nigerian Electricity Management Liability Company to manage the assets and liabilities of PHCN.”
He said three coal-fired power stations would be set up soon with generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts each, adding that a 2,600mw hydro power plant in Mambilla and 700mw plant in Zungeru, among others, were currently being built.
