By Danlami Nasir Isah
The funding intervention of $250 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will help in the rehabilitation of interface infrastructure between electricity transmission and distribution in order to achieve stability of the country’s national grid in the process of ensuring seamless power delivery to consumers nationwide.
According to the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, the apex bank was already funding a $250 million project to rehabilitate critical interface infrastructure between the transmission and distribution segments of the electricity value chain. This, he further explained, was in addition to the Siemens Presidential Power Initiative that will bring an additional $2.3 billion to increase the robustness of the nation’s transmission grid.
With this critical intervention, the minister said the government was expending almost $4 billion secured by the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to augment the grid. “Much of the funds were being actively spent, and the results will be felt soon,” he said.
According to him, the interface projects and more others already being embarked upon by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) collectively bring ongoing projects in the transmission segment of the industry to 135, with 30 completed key substations and 12 transmission lines.
In Nigeria, the imbalance between power generation, evacuation, dispatch and consumption is a major challenge for the population of around 200 million. While over 13 GW of grid power generation capacity is installed, only approximately 3.4 GW reaches consumers on average.
On August 31, 2018, the Presidential Power Initiative, formerly called the Nigeria Electrification Roadmap, was formed between Nigeria and Germany during a visit by the then German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and her business delegation to Abuja.
One of those on her delegation was Joe Kaeser, Siemens AG CEO, where they witnessed the two nations agree to explore cooperation in several areas to resolve the challenges in the power sector and to expand the capacity for future power needs. Specifically, Siemens Energy will help to facilitate financing for the project through the German Export Credit Agency (Euler Hermes AG) and other financing institutions.
The company was brought on board to assess the situation in Nigeria’s power sector and, alongside other stakeholders from the Ministry of Power, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), TCN and electricity distribution companies (Discos), agreed that the immediate priority was to close gaps in the system by enhancing the transmission and distribution segments of the power sector.
In the words of Christian Bruch, President and CEO, Siemens Energy, “Siemens Energy is dedicated to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), which will increase access to reliable, stable and affordable electricity. The project will energize the economy, industry and society. Our involvement in the PPI is testament to our long and fruitful partnership with Nigeria.”
The company, in partnership with Siemens AG, will shortly commence work on the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), which will upgrade the electricity network to achieve operational capacity of 25,000 megawatts (MW) from the current average of around 4,500 MW, through a series of projects spanning three phases.
Following several engagements and reviews on the technical and commercial considerations for the project, with representatives of the TCN, NERC, BPE, the Ministry of Power and all the Discos, the implementation agreement was signed by the President/CEO of Siemens AG, Joe Kaeser; Head Strategy, Technology & Innovation, Industrial Applications Division at Siemens Energy, Onyeche Tifase; and Director General/CEO of Bureau of Public Enterprises, Alex Okoh.
With over 50 years of presence in Nigeria and a solid portfolio across the entire energy value chain, Siemens Energy says it is committed to supporting the country in enhancing its power infrastructure to positively impact Nigerians and to facilitate economic growth.