The Nigerian Government says plans are underway to ramp up power generation to 6,000 megawatts in the next three to six months to solve the drop in electricity supply nationwide.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu disclosed this in a meeting with heads of agencies under his ministry in Abuja on Monday.
He lamented that the country’s current 4,000MW generation capacity is unacceptable.
He reiterated that the Electricity Distribution Companies are the weakest link in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
He urged that Discos must be compelled to perform for the electricity supply to improve.
“So we are looking at an agreement to ramp up to a minimum of 6,000 megawatts within the next three to six months. About three years ago, I know that the highest we ever generated was 5,700.
“I’ve been to a number of the generating companies, and I have confirmed that they have this installed capacity. A large percentage of this installed capacity is operational but unavailable because of a gas shortage. Once there is gas supply, we want to ramp up generation to a minimum of 6,000MW.
“Distribution is our weakest point, the closest to the consumers. If we don’t get distribution rights to Nigerians, we’re not doing anything.
“So, efforts need to be put into this. We must intensify our efforts in ensuring that we address all issues relating to distribution”, he added.
