•Pays N1.23trn of N3.3trn power sector debt
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA—THE Federal Government said yesterday it has approved the commencement of procurement for the proposed East and West super grids, as part of efforts to strengthen the national electricity network and raise transmission capacity from about 5,000 megawatts to 19,000MW within two years.
Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu, at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He explained that the projects would improve grid resilience and enable the country evacuate more electricity to consumers.
“The East and West Super Grids are not projects for one part of the country. They cut across the north and south of Nigeria, strengthening the backbone that must carry power from where it is generated to where it is needed,’’ he said.
The initiative is designed to address one of the sector’s central contradictions: Nigeria has more than 13,000MW of available generation capacity, but its transmission network can reliably wheel only about 5,000MW.
Tegbe said the super grids would improve resilience, reduce grid instability and allow more electricity to reach homes, businesses and industries.
He said: “The target is simple. We want a grid that can evacuate the power we already have, not one that leaves generation stranded while consumers remain in darkness.’’
The minister explained that the corridors would strengthen transmission links from Sokoto through Abuja and other locations into parts of southern Nigeria.
Beyond the super grids, the council approved three immediate interventions for Abuja and the Lagos axis, two of the country’s most important electricity demand centres.
The first is a 33kV double-circuit underground and overhead line connected to the Katampe Transmission Substation, a major hub serving the North-Central region.
The second covers the design, manufacture and supply of three 300MVA, 330/132/33kV transformers for the Ikeja West Transmission Substation, a critical node supplying Lagos.
The third will reconstruct and upgrade the 35.6-kilometre Itumola–Mapasin–Shagamu 132kV single-circuit line into a double-circuit line to serve rising demand along the Lagos–Shagamu corridor.
“These are not glamorous projects, but they are the projects that determine whether power actually gets to the consumer,” Tegbe said.
On sector liquidity, the minister disclosed that the federal government had paid N1.23 trillion of the N3.3 trillion owed gas suppliers and other power-sector stakeholders.
“We have paid N1.23 trillion, and we intend to finish the job. But we must also stop new debts from accumulating,’’ he said.
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