Oscarline Onwuemenyi
13 July 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Federal government yesterday restated its commitment to sustainable power supply in the country.
To this extent, the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Alhaji Mustapha Baba Shehuri has tasked stakeholders in the sector to come up with the right energy mix among the volumes of energy resources in the country that will serve the best interest in delivering power to all Nigerians.
Addressing participants at the second edition of the National Council on Power organised by his ministry in Kaduna, Shehuri said the power industry is currently going through specific challenges and it is important the council deliberate on them especially as the industry is in transition.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary in charge of Power in the ministry, Mr. Louis Edozien, the Minister said committees will be established and saddled with the specific issues that need attention, adding that all stakeholders need to be on board in moving the sector forward.
According to him, “We are here to discuss gas to power and the current constraints that we have and the gas resources that we have and the prospect of better utilization of the resources, the key actors in the sector, international oil companies, NNPC, others and what they need to do to get a better result , the pricing issues, commercial issues and security which is at the centre of the challenges that we now face.
“How to align gas infrastructural development with the generation capabilities, how to use gas resources more creatively in terms of LPG, LNG and other ways of better utilizing our rich gas resources.”
He added that “The first committee will be looking at issues like on the ideal energy mix for the country, yes we are abundantly blessed with gas. But we also have extensive hydro resources.
“Nigeria also has coal, we have wind, we have abundant solar, one committee is going to focus on how to effectively harness these energy resources and develop energy target and mix that will better serve the country.”