Fed Govt gets 80% of Siemens' power equipment

The Federal Government of Nigeria Power Company has received 80 per cent of the equipment for the Nigeria-Siemens Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) project, its Managing Director, Mr. Kenny Anuwe, said yesterday.

He added that the project has recorded notable milestones.

In a statement, Anuwe noted that the pilot project is a quick-win intervention strategy, which will unlock immediate constraints in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) through the deployment of 10 Power Transformers and 10 Mobile Substations across the country.

Amuwe said: 'FGN Power Company has received delivery of about 80 per cent of the equipment for the pilot projects, which are being deployed to critical sites across the country to improve power transmission capacity.'

He said some of the sites include Apo, Ajah, Okene, Nike Lake, Kwanar Dangora, Maryland, Omouaran, Ojo, Amukpe, Ihovbor, Potiskum, and Birnin Kebbi.

He added that the implementation of PPI, being coordinated by FGN Power Company, is progressing and remains a vital programme for Nigeria's power sector.

Giving a breakdown of the project, he said: 'The Nigeria-Siemens PPI initiative will be delivered in three phases with Phase 1 focusing on 'quick win' measures to increase end-to-end operational capacity to 7000megawatts (Mw) from the current capacity of about 5000Mw. Phase Two targets expanding the capacity of the transmission and distribution systems to enable evacuation of up to 11,000 Mw of electricity to consumers, while Phase Three targets expanding the power grid to 25000Mw capacity, through further expansion of generation, transmission, and distribution systems.'

Amuwe noted that the Federal Government, Siemens A.G and Siemens Energy have remained unwavering to their commitments to the project, which is intended to resolve capacity deficits in metering infrastructure, transmission and distribution end-to-end system constraints.

He added that it is also addressing power systems and network development studies and securing financing for the entire project implementation.

According to the statement, the successful implementation of projects under Phase 1 will culminate in the delivery of an additional 2000Mw, two million new connections to the national grid.

He added that it will lead to the training of over 5000 engineers to operate the system network, and improved electricity access to millions of Nigerians.

Despite the notable successes recorded in this project, he recalled that it was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic which caused a backlog in Siemens' production and limited the availability of manufacturing slots.

He however said a visit by the Minister of Power Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu and the management of FGN Power Company and other key officials to Germany in April 2022 where he met with the leadership of Siemens Energy helped in mitigating the manufacturing challenges and fast-tracking the delivery and execution of the project.

Amuwe said the installation of the 60MVA Siemens power transformer at Apo Transmission Substation, Abuja was widely publicized.

The project, he said, is in progress and will continue to deliver upgraded and expanded electricity supply for the socio-economic benefit of Nigerians.

He assured Nigerians that the PPI is committed to delivering high-quality, long-lasting solutions for effective and sustainable economic development.

Amuwe said it will deliver critical electrification infrastructure to improve the quality of life for Nigerians.