*The Azura-Edo IPP is a 450MW Open Cycle Gas Turbine power station being constructed near Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria.
Michael James
17 September 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos — Azura Independent Power Project, IPP in Edo State will add 459megawatts to Nigeria’s national grid by 2019.
This was made known by the Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Nigeria (handlers of the power plant) Mr.Onyeche Tifase.
In a statement signed by Keshin Govender, media relations officer of the company, the project is expected to add 3GW to the national grid by 2020 upon completion.
Explaining the drive behind the development, Govender quoted international studies to have said: “Nigeria could potentially achieve over 7% annual GDP growth, making it a top-20 economy by 2030.
“This translates into 70 million people being moved above the poverty line in little more than a decade. But the fact remains that this potential will never be realised without sufficient access to end-to-end electrification, which is the backbone of any thriving economy. This includes power generation, transmission, distribution and the efficient application of electrical energy through automation.”
Siemens Nigeria urged Nigeria to shift away from the traditional notion of generating large volumes of power for the entire population from only a handful of large centralised sources.
“We are now turning to smaller decentralised sources to generate electricity closer to the people who use it.
“In a decentralised system, there are more small-scale individual producers that are all connected to the grid, ensuring an effective and reliable supply where it is needed. There are many technologies that make up decentralised power generation, including gas, solar, wind and hydro.”
According to the statement, manual revenue collection opens up the door for corruption and electricity theft, which reduces power availability to paying customers.
It advised that smart digital grids be used where the electricity network sends and receives accurate data and information in real-time.
