The Federal Government will
spend $2.86bn (N457.6bn)
between now and 2017 in
order to give the nation a
power transmission
infrastructure that can carry
16,000 megawatts of
electricity.
The Minister of Information,
Mr. Labaran Maku, said this
in Abuja on Tuesday at a
news conference on the
performance of the
economy, especially
following the successful
sale of the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria’s
successor companies.
Maku said a transmission
expansion blue print
prepared by the Presidential
Action Committee on Power
had committed the
government to a
transmission capacity of
16,000MW.
He said the government
was committed to funding
the programme, which will
cost $2.86bn, listing the
sources of funding as the
African Development Bank,
$150m; World Bank, $290m;
and Eurobond of $150m.
Other funding sources are a
$500m loan from the China
Export Import Bank;
proceeds from the sale of
the National Integrated
Power Plants, $1.6bn; and
budgetary appropriation,
$170m.
Announcing that the end of
darkness was near in
Nigeria, Maku said different
steps taken by the
government would soon
begin to yield results, but
pleaded with the citizens to
exercise some patience as
time was still needed to
usher in a new era.
He said, “The distribution
companies are going to
ensure that there are
meters and the meters will
be prepaid so that nobody
will come and charge you
for darkness, which was the
case in the past. You buy
your credit and when it
finishes, your light goes off.
You don’t need anybody to
come and disconnect you.
“You can be sure now that
you will pay for every light
you use. People will ensure
that they put off light that
they don’t need. The
importance of this is that
the power you don’t use will
go to the industry. When
you waste electricity, it is a
national waste, not just to
the person that is paying for
it. If you save it, it goes into
production.
“Government will subsidise
power for the poor people.
The rural dwellers and poor
urban dwellers; there is a
subsidy for you. In the
course of the new tariff,
which will come in the
beginning of the market, the
tariff will not take electricity
beyond the capacity of the
poor people. It is the bridge
to ensure that everybody
has access to electricity.”
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