…bemoans activities of gas pipeline vandals
As Nigerians grapple with shortage of electricity supply, the Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, has promised that there are good days ahead when darkness would be become a thing of the past.
He however advocated that one of the easiest ways to get out of the predicament is for Nigerians to embrace the use of solar energy which he said is expensive to install but much less to maintain.
He also stated that the beauty of it is that almost every part of the country is amenable to solar radiation.
The Minister, who spoke in Lagos on Wednesday during a media tour, assured that with all the groundwork and infrastructure put in place by the present administration, the country will soon enjoy considerable power supply.
The rural area, he added, are not going to be left out of the master plan just as he stated that through ‘Operation Light Up the Rural Area’, three communities have enjoyed one-year uninterrupted power supply through the use of solar energy.
He said the moribund National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) have been reactivated and will soon come on stream even as he disclosed that two out of the 10 have been commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said in few month, the Egbin Power Plant which have been turn-around to full capacity and would be commissioned soon by President Jonathan.
The Minister said the government had already taken a holistic approach aimed at solving the power problems and as a result is also considering ‘fuel mix’ which includes hydro, charcoal, solar and bio-mass (renewable energy) among others.
“This president (Jonathan)
He also canvassed the use of ‘embedded’ power generation and distribution which he stated was far cheaper to embark upon.
According to him, with the embedded generation a community could be identified and supplied with 10 or 15 megawatts to light it up while the investor agrees on a fee with the residents.
He explained that any individual with the expertise and wherewithal was free to embark on such project.
The Minister however bemoaned the activities of vandals who burst the gas pipelines every now and then thereby disrupting the flow of gas needed for power generation.
He said currently the country generates a little above 4,000 megawatts but it is very possible that it could have done better if not for the vandalism of the critical infrastructure.
At a point, he added, that the country had generated more but it dropped because of vandalism or activities of people suspected to saboteurs.
“Vandalism is taken a toll on us…because 70 percent of our power generation is from gas- fired turbines and 30 percent hydro”, he said.
He however stated that the Ministry has decided to partner with the security agents to curb the nefarious activities of the vandals.
The Minister also disclosed that the government would soon embark on digitalized surveillance of the pipelines, a development he said would make vandalism near impossible.