OpeOluwani Akintayo
31 October 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The Federal Ministry of Power has announced that 540 megawatts of power will be added to the national grid soon.
A statement by the ministry on Monday said the 540MW will be achieved through an agreement signed between the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, NBET, and Qua Iboe Independent Power Plant last week.
Speaking on the milestone, Minister of Power Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said the increase in power was consistent with the roadmap of the government on power which is one of the five principal components of the government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP.
Fashola explained that within the responsibility framework of the ERGP, the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing had drawn a roadmap for providing power for the country which, according to him, “is to start with getting incremental energy until we can stabilize; then we go to uninterrupted power”.
According to the minister, while the Ministry of Petroleum Resources bears the responsibility for the energy component of the ERGP, his ministry is saddled with the responsibility of the production and supply of sufficient power for Nigerians. He added: “A process that potentially adds 540 megawatts to our power store fits very well with our incremental power roadmap”.