Joseph Bakare
The Ministry of Power, has delivered a special position paper to President Bola Tinubu, asking for a special fund in the 2025 budget to complete key transmission projects abandoned by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Already the Ministry is spending over N500 billion to ensure completion of more than 100 abandoned projects by the TCN.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, stated this on Thursday, during an official visit to the Kano Electricity Distribution Company where he went to engage with stakeholders to identify and tackle obstacles hindering optimal performance in the power sector.
Adelabu said the abandoned TCN projects had reached between 80 per cent and 95 per cent completion stages.
The Minister who was displeased over the neglect of the TCN projects, said many of them had reached completion stages, adding that when completed, the projects would strengthen power supply across the nation.
He emphasised the need to revamp the transmission architecture, which currently relies heavily on Shiroro and Jos channels, calling on investors to come in to boost power supply across the country.
Adelabu explained that exploring alternative power sources to serve as backups to the national grid had become necessary with a view to curtailing future occurrences of the collapse of the grid.
“This radial system leaves the northern region vulnerable to electricity disruptions whenever issues arise with these lines.
“This proactive approach aims to ensure that the region is prepared for any eventuality, including vandalism or national grid collapse, recognising the crucial roles various stakeholders play in achieving these objectives.
“Provision of electricity should not be the sole responsibility of the Federal Government,” he added.
To mitigate the trend of grid failure and attendant power outages, Adelabu advocated for the establishment of independent power sources within the state metropolis to support the national grid.
The government, however, reaffirmed its determination to boost the electricity supply, in a bid to revive moribund industries and enhance the nation’s economy.
He recognised the crucial roles various stakeholders play in achieving these objectives:
“State governments should ensure effective implementation of providing alternative electricity sources and discos should also ensure reliable distribution services, while consumers should utilise electricity efficiently,” he said.
The Minister revealed that interested investors were willing to invest in the Kano power sector, adding that he planned to discuss alternative solutions with Governor Abba Yusuf.
Adelabu, who expressed dismay over the metering process, said information available to him revealed that only 33 per cent of electricity consumers had meters.
He admonished KEDCO and other DisCos across the nation to intensify efforts in making meters available to consumers with a view to ensuring effective service delivery.
He cleared the air over insinuations that the President neglected the North, a reason the outage lasted.
Adelabu, who described the stretched blackout as unfortunate, said the President had no intention of discriminating against any region.
Speaking during his visit to the Kano State Government House, he said, the situation was worrisome and unfortunate, adding that what happened was not deliberate.
“What happened was not deliberate but unfortunate, it is not a situation we want to repeat itself. If at all or will happen, we need to have a permanent solution to it,” Adelabu said.
He further said that he and his team were on a working visit to Kano to physically inspect the installations and other infrastructure in the region and to interact with the government on the way forward.
The Minister also called on the state government to collaborate with the ministry in investing in power generation and distribution.
He said the power sector had been decentralised with 10 states enjoying leverage to generate power.
He called on Kano State to join the league of states showing interest in power generation and distribution.
“There is a need to partner with us in generation and distribution. The Federal Government is ready to collaborate as there are a lot of projects left uncompleted that can lead to a lot of losses,” he said.
The Chief of Staff to the Kano Government House, Shehu Wada Sagagi, who represented the Governor, assured the Minister that the state government would look into ways to invest in the power sector and even also through the budget provide subsidies for consumers.