THE Presidency has stated its concern over the huge metering
gap in the electricity sector and wants it bridged immediately for a
progressive growth in the direction the Federal Government intends it to.
To that that end, Vice President Namadi Sambo
said in Abuja Thursday that government was sourcing various funding avenues,
including an initial N33 billion soft credit line to enable the distribution
companies acquire smart metres and make them more available to consumers.
Speaking at the formal inauguration of the
National Council on Power, Sambo, who was represented by the Minister of Power,
Prof. Chinedu Nebo, also stressed that a total of $4.7 billion has been
earmarked for transmission expansion in the next five years.
“As it pertains to the overall funding of the
power sector, a number of efforts are being made to leverage resources from
various funding agencies to ensure that all participants in the sector have
access to funds under soft and long term conditions,” he said.
Similarly, government is looking to generating
5,000 megawatts of electricity from its abundant coal deposits, as part of its
energy mix. According to Sambo, “available studies show that Nigeria’s coal
belt covers over eight states and is capable of generating 5,000MW of power if
fully developed.
“The Ministry of Power and the Ministry of
Mines and Steel Development have therefore been directed to ensure that the
first scale of coal-to-power project takes off soonest, following the model of
partnership between government and the private sector.
“Still on improving the sources of our energy
mix is our commitment to scaling up investments in the development of our
renewable resources, especially small, medium and large hydros, solar and
wind.
“This administration has taken steps to ensure
the take-off of the 700MW Zungeru hydropower project, which is now under
construction, and the 3050MW Mambilla hydropower project, as major commitments
in this direction.
“We will go further down to ensure the
realization of other hydro projects such Gurara II, Itisi Dam and the full
realization of the hydropower from Gurara I and Kashimbilla Dam, as well as all
the existing small dams around the country.”
According to him, “solar energy is going to form the
hub of our future rural electrification programme, particularly for off-grid
communities, all of which must be carried along in our efforts at ensuring that
no Nigerian community and family is left in darkness.
“This is why I also call on state governments
to scale up their annual budgetary provisions for the power sector, as this
will have cumulative impact on the overall development of their respective
states.
“It is in relation to all these that we have
also taken measures to promote our sub-regional efforts to ensure sustainability
of power. In this direction, in July 2013, ECOWAS Heads of State renewed its
commitment to the provision of access to energy by adopting the ECOWAS Energy
Efficiency Policy (EEEP), as well as the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy (EREP).
“As a follow-up, in March 2014, the 15 ECOWAS
countries validated the templates and the process of the development of
National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Action plans, as well as
sustainable energy for all (SE4ALL) agenda.”
Nebo explained that the Council on Power is vehicle
for harmonizing and aligning the dispersed stakeholder-groups, comprising the
Ministry of Power, commissioners of power/energy in the 36 states and the FCT,
and would act as an advisory and decision-making body to review pertinent
recommendations from all stakeholders.
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