13 August 2012, Sweetcrude, ABUJA – PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan says Nigeria plans to build on the current improvement in power generation and increase its generation capacity to 9,000 megawatts, MW, in the next few months.
Power generation rose to 4,300mw in Nigeria recently for the first time, bouying hopes of a possible considerable improvement in power supply in the country long dogged by intractable power cuts.
Jonathan said this in a statement from the Office of his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, outlining his achievements since May 2011 when he assumed office.
The president’s optimism is based on the expected completion of the 10 projects under the National Integrated Power Plants, NIPP, which, on completion, will add 4960mw to the national grid .
According to the statement, on assumption of office, Jonathan inherited 10 abandoned projects under the NIPP and had since then revitalised the projects.
The projects are Ihovbor in Edo State (451mw), Omotosho in Ondo State (451mw), Olorunsogo in Ogun State (750mw), Sapele in Delta State (451mw), Geregu in Kogi State (434mw), Egbema in Imo State (338mw), Gbarain in Bayelsa (225mw), Omoku in Rivers State (225mw), Calabar in Cross River State (561mw) and Alaoji in Abia State (1074mw).
“This administration met 10 abandoned NIPP projects and has successfully revitalised all. More importantly, they are all within the range of 95-100 per cent completion stage and are awaiting gas supply, which government has taken very concrete steps to address,” the statement signed by the Media Director in the office, Mr. Olusanya Awosan. read.
It continued: “Government has improved power generation from under 3,000mw in 2011 to 4,300mw by August 2012. Therefore, when the 10 NIPP projects are fully on stream, which will be within the next few months, the total national generation capacity will not be less than 9000mw, a 200 per cent increase in generating capacity as compared with the figures for 2011 and the highest ever by any administration since independence”.
