The Minister of State for Power, Mrs Zainab Kuchi, has announced plans by the Federal Government to attain 10,000 MW of electricity generation in the country by December.
The current electricity generation capacity stands at 6,442 MW, although actual generation peaked at 4,517.6MW recorded on December 23, 2012.
The Minister also listed other plans by the ministry in 2013 to include diversification of the nation’s energy sources, scaling up of rural access to electricity and stimulating investment in the sector by fostering bilateral relations.
“The ministry will also focus on developing new policy initiatives to address post privatisation challenges,” she said.
The minister said transaction advisers had been appointed for concession of small and medium hydro power projects, while a 40MW hydro power plant would be completed within the year.
According to her, the wind farm in Katsina, with capacity for 10MW, is now ready for inauguration but it is being delayed due to the current security challenges in the area.
Kuchi also said arrangements had been concluded to borrow from the African Development Bank to support the expansion of the nation’s transmission capacity.
She listed some achievements recorded in power transmission to include the inauguration of 239 kilometres of 330KV transmission line; completion of 21km of 132KV of transmission line; and the inauguration of 600MVA 330/132/33KV substation capacity.
