• Thursday, March 28, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

Siemens power deal to deliver reliable electricity to 40m Nigerians- FG

Siemens power deal to deliver reliable electricity to 40m Nigerians- FG

The Federal Government has said its electricity deal with Siemens was on course, stating that the first phase of the programme under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) would increase power supply to about 40 million Nigerians.

In addition, the contract which would see the eventual ramp up of the country’s generation capacity to 25,000 megawatts, the government stated, would create at least 11,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Speaking at the commencement of the PPI training on network development studies, Kenny Anuwe, managing director of FGN Power, said the training was the first Power System Simulation Software (PSS) session under the Power Technology International (PTI) from Germany.

It is also expected that the entire power sector value chain comprising the generation, transmission and distribution will partake in the training which will be handled by the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN).

Anuwe further assured that the much-awaited project will resolve the existing bottlenecks in transmission and distribution networks, which will increase electricity access across Nigeria.

“I want to assure you that FGN Power Company will do its best to deliver on this project to ensure greater success and sustainability,” he stated.

The Siemens project is expected to modernise, rehabilitate and expand the national grid by investing in the electricity value chain (generation, transmission, and distribution systems) of the power sector.

Read also: Foundation empowers 3000 Lagos residents

“FGN Power Company and Siemens Energy have made significant progress towards the implementation of the PPI. The pre-engineering contract for distribution systems that were executed between FGN Power Company and Siemens in February 2021 was completed in December 2021,” Anuwe said at another recent event.

He added, “This is meant to provide the engineers working for the utility companies and TCN with capacity building on power system simulation, network studies, and system planning skills. FGN Power Company has already deployed the simulation software to all utilities.”

Anuwe noted that the FGN Power Company has conducted a scope validation exercise with DisCos and TCN.

“This is aimed to align viable projects, to avoid duplication of projects and redundancy while also ensuring that the target 2GW will be unlocked from the selected projects. The scope of work has been approved by the Regulator, NERC,” Anuwe explained.

According to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, the first phase of the Presidential Power Initiative will provide over 40 million people with more reliable electricity supply, create 11,000 direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians from power system engineers to electricians and contractors, and this will in turn improve the standard of living while providing homes and businesses with constant, reliable and affordable electricity supply.

Zainab, who is also the Chairperson of the board of FGN Power Co, said the board members are the Ministers of Power, Works and Housing and Justice, as well as the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).

“The reason we are here today is to flag off the training aspect of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), which empowers engineers with tools and training on network modelling and system development studies,” Zainab added.

The Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, represented by the Minister of State for Power, Engr. Goddy Jedy-Agba, said in 18 months, the Siemens project will add 2,000 megawatts (MW) to the national grid, raising it to 7,000MW.

He said, “The objective of the PPI is to increase the end-to-end grid operational capacity of the power system in Nigeria to 25 gigawatts (GW) but the focus in the next 18 months, it will deliver the first additional 2000MW. This will create a rapid transformation in the on-grid electricity value chain, spur economic growth, create jobs and opportunities for Nigerian youth and enterprises.”