Yemisi Izuora
Annual investment of $1.5 billion will be deployed to provide adequate power evacuation as the country takes steps to realise its ambitious generation expansion.
The federal government has anticipated to increase power generation to 20,000 mega watts (MW) a project that will also require transmission sector upgrade.
The Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited(NDPHC),Mr. James Abiodun Olotu, who spoke at the PwC Annual Power and Utilities Roundtable in Lagos said the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) would require about $7.5 billion to improve on its ageing transmission infrastructure across
the country.
Olotu in his presentation titled ‘‘ Improving Power Delivery across
the Generation: Transmission-Distribution Value Chain, observed that obsolete and weak transmission lines was militating against the delivery of generated power, thus worsening the country’s power
situation.
Olotu who was represented by the Executive Director, Generation,NDPHC, Mr. Sanusi Garba, said the $7.5 billion investment in transmission upgrade is expected to be deployed over a 5 year period
at $1.5 annually.
He said the National Assembly has agreed that the TCN should use part of the expected $5.7 proceeds from the sale of governments 80 percent equity in NIPP to fund transmission
upgrade.
Meanwhile, PwC has unveiled its Africa Power Survey (Nigeria Focus) during which it observed that population growth will have significant impact on the Nigerian power sector.
The report also indicated that 69 percent of the Nigerian participants identified the emergence of megacities as the next most impacting megatrend after population growth of high or very high impact.
‘‘This reflects the huge pressure of growing population and
urbanization on Africa’s most populous country and the current gap in its power infrastructure.
Results are quite the same globally or in Africa,with approximately 52 percent of respondents regarding the impact of megacities as significant, the survey disclosed.
The survey revealed that Nigeria paints a slightly different picture
in terms of the challenges experienced in the power industry compared to the rest of Africa.
For Nigeria, the survey maintained that cost reflective tariffs top the list of challenges faced by the survey respondents, adding that
the challenge is also envisaged to top the list of challenges in the next five years.
‘‘Market reforms are rated above ageing or badly maintained
infrastructure looking at the industry today.
This, however, is expected to significantly reduce in the next five years compared to ageing and badly maintained infrastructure which is also expected to have had significant improvements,’’ the survey highlighted