FG: “Nigerians May Get 18-Hour Power Supply Daily Soon”

The Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman has said that Nigerians may start enjoying 18-hour power supply daily as soon as power generation and distribution get to 7,000 megawatts.

The minister assured that improvements are underway for electricity consumers.

“On the part of government, we are trying to improve through the expansion and I said by the end of the year, we will get 7,000 megawatts.

“By the time we get that, we may get 18-hour power supply daily and by the time it is 11,000 megawatts, everybody will have sufficient power,” Engr. Mamman assured.

On the planned increase in electricity tariff, the minister said that the DisCos and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) entered agreements during the privatisation.

“It’s no longer in the hands of government because 60 per cent is in the hands of the private sector but we regulate the sector.

“We just have to ensure it is standardised like other countries. We are inviting investors to come but if we don’t do that (get real tariff), they will not come but I believe we cannot go out of the standard,” he said.

Minister Mamman said the ongoing expansion and reform will enable DisCos to become viable, noting that interventions being provided by the federal government were not sustainable.

“In 2018, the federal government gave N700bn just to close the gap between the GenCos and DisCos because GenCos will have to pay for gas. This is unsustainable and last year we collected N600bn to see a gap and start filling it,” the minister also said.

Mamman said that survey work for the 3050 megawatts (MW) Mambilla hydropower project will be completed in the next two months, while payment of compensation to people affected in the communities will follow immediately. (Daily Trust)