Osinbajo commissions 240MW Afam III power plant in Rivers
Port Harcourt -- Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says Nigeria could become one of the best power markets in the world, if she sustains the strides made by the Muhammadu Buhari administration in the electricity sector, with increased investments and improvements in the value chain.
Osinbajo stated this at the official commissioning of the 240 megawatts, MW, Afam III Fast Power Project in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he represented the president.
According to him, Nigeria has all the ingredients to create one of the best power markets in the world.
" I am also confident it will happen within our lifetimes. The challenge before us now is for the industry to leverage the improved commercial environment that has been created to sustainably supply electricity and improve service to all citizens. This administration has made significant strides in this direction," he said.
Referencing the efforts of the administration in the sector, Osinbajo said the complete story was that in the past few years, new investors were coming in to invest in the power value chain.
"These transactions include Quest PLC that became core investor in Yola disco in 2020 with the transaction worth N19 billion. Last month the National Council on Privatization, NCP, approved
the 30-year concession on Zungeru Hydro Power Plant at $70 million a year. And overall, the story of the Nigerian electricity supply industry is also getting better.
"Since 2020, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has executed all of its bi-annual review processes without fail. In 2019 subsidies reached a peak of N584 billion in an environment that was very burdensome on the Nigerian Government’s fiscal position.
"The introduction of the Service Based Tariff, the Payment Discipline initiative for the sector (through NERC and CBN) and the
introduction of the National Mass Metering programme have led to a doubling of market collections in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry from N40 billion per month in 2020 to a record of N80 billion per month in the 1st quarter of 2023," Osinbajo said.
He also stated that in 2021 and 2022 five underperforming DISCOs were brought into a restructuring program that has led to a N10billion per month reduction in shortfalls. If this trajectory continues, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry will attain self-sufficiency by the end of 2023.