In a bid to significantly increase power supply, the federal government has approved all 16 memos on power presented by minister of power, Abubakar Aliyu.
The minister disclosed this to State House correspondents after the extraordinary Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at Council Chambers of the State House, yesterday.
Some of the projects costs are in both Dollar and Naira, Euro and Naira and Naira only components. The costs are $65,606,420, €15,152,651 and N31,360,272,397 respectively.
Speaking on the memo he presented, Aliyu stated: “Today, I presented to council 16 memos, which I seek for council’s approval and the council graciously approved all of them. At this point, let me say what these approvals will do to the nation’s electricity supply. “As we’re all aware, the major problem we’re having in the Electricity Supply Industry is to be able to evacuate sufficient electricity and distribute them. That is to say, we have a very weak transmission grid and distribution segment of the value chain.
We may not be having much problem with generation. So, unless we’re able to strengthen the electricity grid, which is nationwide, and to expand, and to be able to evacuate, what the grid can take to consumers, we will have a lot of problems ahead of us.
“So, what we’re doing currently through various and several interventions is to be able to repair the grid by constructing new transmission lines, bringing in new equipment to replace the old ones at our substations. So, that will release more capacity to the distribution and to the customers.
“So, the operational capacity, as you all know now is hovering around 5,000 megawatts and the transmission and distribution.”
