President Goodluck Jonathan said on Saturday that the his administration
would not rest on its oars until it stabilised power supply in the
country.
He made the pledge at the inauguration of the rehabilitated Unit 6 and
unit 4 of the Egbin thermal plant in Lagos to raise the output of the
plant by 220 megawatts
“For government, there is no going back until we surely stabilise power in
the country,’’ the president said.
He said the rehabilitation of the plant had returned Egbin to its full
capacity of 1,320 megawatts.
According to him the landmark achievement was happening for the first time
since the inception of the plant.
He said the power output would be beneficial to the Lagos industrial
layout and its environs while its sustenance would lead to creation of
more jobs.
The president added that the power road map of his administration had set
out the key foundation needed to remove the obstacles needed in the power
sector investment.
He said that stemming from the privatisation of the power sector more
dividends had accrued to the nation.
He noted that the feat achieved by the administration would extend the
life span of the Egbin plant by another 20 years.
“The Egbin power plant and the result shown today demonstrate without
doubt that we have made a strong foundation upon which we are building a
sound and sustainable electricity industry.
“Let me restate that we are committed to irreversibly reposition the
Nigerian power sector as a pivot for the attainment of our nation’s
development targets.’’
The president further said that his administration was diversifying the
energy source by exploring all the options available to remain the
strongest economy in the continent and beyond.
He said that from now and in the future the FG would continue to make the
power sector growth become self-sustaining and viable by creating a
conducive environment through access to low interest finance and sound
policy formulation.
He commended the Board and Management of Egbin and the regulatory bodies
for a job well done.
He further urged the host community to partner the power station to
conserve the environment and protect the facility.
The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, noted that since privatisation
the power sector had received a new boost to move the nation to the next
level.
He said that for 16 years before the advent of the Jonathan
administration, no engineer was hired or employed by the operators in the
industry but Egbin had hired more than 107 engineers in training.
He said that the revamped units had been moribund for more than nine years
while the new company owner invested over N50 billion to revive the plant.
He said that a lot of work was done in the other power generation
companies to boost their capacity.
Accordingly, he said, that Kainji dam was raised from 80 mw to additional
150mw with another 330 mw to be injected soon.
He said that Shiroro dam’s 450mw plant had added another 150 megawatts.
He said Ugheli had increased to 600mw from less than 200mw before
privatisation.
He also said a minimum of 5,000 megawatts would be added to the grid when
the coal turbines across the country were completed.
The chairman of the board of directors of the plant, Mr Kola Adesina, said
the management recognised the importance of the plant to improve power
when it commenced the revamping exercise.
He praised the Jonathan administration for the CBN power sector
intervention fund which had assisted industry operators.
He said over one million homes in Lagos would enjoy additional six hours
of power per day, with more than 6,000 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect
employment opened.