By Tony Obiechina, Abuja 

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government towards achieving the desired target of 350GW electricity generating capacity by the year 2043.     

The Minister, who spoke during a briefing session Thursday, in his office in Abuja, by top management staff of the Nigerian Electricity Management Service Agency (NEMSA)  said that it would only be possible if all hands were on deck towards realizing the targets.

He informed that ‘’the present administration of President Bola Tinubu,  has prioritized the Power Sector as the topmost priority of all the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) assets classes” 

He added that over the years, the government had also embarked on several reforms to turn around the power sector, the latest  being the new Electricity Bill.

 The Minister noted that the Nigeria Electricity Act 2023 prioritized the implementation of tariffs that accurately reflected the cost and service provided as well as promoted competition in the electricity sector through the use of contracts and rules’’. 

He further stated that the main objective of the law was to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Nigeria electricity industry, adding that NEMSA was one of the key players in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) charged with the responsibility of carrying out the enforcement of technical standards and regulations, technical inspection, testing, and certification of all categories of electrical installations across the country to ensure stable, safe and reliable electricity networks.

Bagudu added that the agency strived to ensure zero incidences of electrical accidents, energy accountability, eliminate substandard electrical equipment and material and rid the system of quack electrical installation personnel contractors. 

Bagudu explained that the agency had embarked on some of the activities, which included: an inspection of over 15,931 electricity projects across the country, out of which 10,692 had been certified fit for use by NEMSA, monitoring of 12,114 existing networks and power systems nationwide; Inspection of 3,255 electrical installations at factories across the country, among others.

In his brief, the MD/CEO of NEMSA & Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation, Engr. Aliyu Tukur Tahir said that their priority was to have a steady light electricity network that was stable, safe, and reliable. “We also strive to ensure zero incidences in the electricity networks, energy accountability, and eliminate substantial electrical material and equipment across our network in the country”.

He pointed out that “electricity has become part of our everyday life, it is a great benefit to all of us but the electricity we use is associated with a lot of hazards and these hazards are so real that they can even affect professionals themselves; so to mitigate these hazards, number of technical standards and revelations are now developed and that was why this agency was established to carry out enforcement of technical inspection, testing and certification before they are allowed to be used”.

 The Breau of Public Procurement (BPP) and African Development Bank (AfDB) have entered into partnership to strengthen on-going reforms in the energy sector to improve productivity and add value to the economy.

According to a statement by Janet McDickson, Head,  Media, BPP, the Director General of BPP, Mamman Ahmadu, made this known on Tuesday, while welcoming the AfDB team to his office.

The AfDB team was led by Dr Patrick Owuori, the Regional Procurement Coordinator.

Mamman said that emphasis should be placed on quality, while implementing the much needed energy sector reform, adding that  government projects needed to be long-lasting and sustainable.

He said that sufficient rules should be made on how the money the organisation was putting on the table for the project was to be expended.

The director general said that BPP was working assiduously to achieve the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

“Procedures and strategies are put in place for spending government funds that will give value for money,” he said.

According to him, BPP  was also in collaboration with the World Bank to put in place an e- procurement mechanism for transparency in all procurement processes.

“We are designing a capacity building sector to design customises areas to train procurement officers in skills and knowledge that will match global best practices,’’ he said.

Mamman said that the BPP needed more funding to design procurement capacity that could work with the energy sector and  all procurements across board.

He, however, said that BPP’s partnership with AfDB would go a long way in enhancing the procurement sector engagement.

The leader of the delegation and Regional Procurement Coordinator, AfDB, Dr Patrick Owuori said, the new government of President Bola Tinubu, in the bid to get the power sector improve its services, had requested AfDB to develop and redesign a template to improve the energy sector.

Owuori said that the task would take them between six and nine months to redesign.

He said that the entire project would cost $1billion, with the timeline between 2023-2024.(NAN)

Nigeria has witnessed yet another collapse of the power grid resulting in nationwide blackout.

Electricity supply plummeted from a high of 3,594.60 megawatts (MW) around 1:00 a.m. to an alarming 42.7MW on Tuesday, 19th September, 2023.

As of mid-day today, the only operational power plant on the grid was the Delta Power plant, generating 41.

This occurrence follows closely on the heels of two recent grid collapses in just over a 12-hour period, plunging the nation into complete darkness.

Last week Wednesday, Nairametrics reported the collapse of the nation’s electricity grid throwing the country into a blackout.

The Minister of Power attributed the collapse of the grid to a fire outbreak at the Kainji/Jebba station.