Nigerian President Orders Committee to Deliver 6,000 Megawatts

---

Researched by Industrial Info resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--After another season of dissatisfaction and bureaucratic obfuscation, Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, has charged a committee with the task of delivering an additional 6,000 megawatts (MW) of power to the national grid within 18 months with supporting transmission and distribution networks of the required capacity. Currently the national system puts out about 3,000 MW from 10 power stations running at low capacity.

Tripling the power supply will provide for the nation's base-load needs. That base load is estimated on the minimum requirements for Africa's most populous nation (about 135 million people) after years of unfilled promises, low expectancy and the expenditure of $16 billion on a program of new power station construction and refurbishment of transmission grids that has never been near the original construction schedule, or in a number projects, given the final go-ahead.

Before the president's pronouncement, Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan said that the frequent power cuts in the country had become "embarrassing," the BBC reported. He said this when the lights failed at a function he was attending at a hotel in the capital, Abuja. This was followed by the president firing his special assistant on power who had served in the same position with the previous president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

The report also quoted a member of the committee on the fact that six power stations already financed with government funds had yet to be completed. After six years, the foundations have not been completed at some units. Eighteen turbines worth $3 billion are lying in Lagos Port because there is no means to move them on site at the power stations.

In the same statement expressing the president's 6,000 MW target, it was also stated that the country's power generation should reach 20,000 MW by 2011, which would increase current output by a factor of about seven. The committee is to submit an interim report by the third week in March that "will be a vital component of the state of emergency to be declared by the president in the power sector." Deadlines have also been issued to prevent oil companies flaring gas, which should go to feed power stations.

Meanwhile, diesel generators keep chugging out their blue haze, keeping businesses and domestic homes functioning at a considerable cost in investment and fuel. The fruits of the upstream oil industry are not yet reaching energy and fuel hungry downtown Lagos and Abuja.

For related information, see:
January 3, 2007 - Nigeria's Ambitious Power Target - 5,000 MW Added by May and 10,000 MW Total by End 2007
July 17, 2007 - Nigeria's $8 Billion Good Intentions to Close Power Gap - Again
December 12, 2007 - Nigeria Tries New Power Mix in search for 60,000 Megawatts

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process and energy related industries with products and services ranging from industry news, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia advertising campaign assistance.