17 February 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Federal Government has expressed confidence that power generation in the country could top 7,000 megawatts by year end if current efforts to boost transmission and refurbish the power plants continue.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who disclosed this in Abuja, said the ministry’s 2016 budget focuses more on the transmission sector, stressing that with the completion of on-going projects, refurbishing of power plants and tackling gas supply issues which have been identified as key challenges of the sector, power generation and supply will generally improve.
He stated this when he defended his 2016 budget before the Senate Committee on Power and Mines.
Only last week, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, had announced that the country’s electricity generation has grown to over 5,000MW.
A statement from the ministry noted that the Minister informed the senators about “a lot of changes that have taken place in recent times in the management of power in the country.”
The minister also reminded the senators that electricity generation and distribution was no longer the business of the government but that of private companies who bought stakes in the sector through the privatisation programme, which has left the government with the transmission aspect as being managed by Manitoba Hydro International of Canada.
He further stated that the ministry plans to take its role as a policy maker more seriously in the years to come, while all its relevant agencies will be tasked more on implementation and execution of government’s plan for the sector.
