Nigeria’s Minister for Power, Adebayo Adelabu has said the Zungeru hydropower plant is 99.8% ready for operations.
He said this during a recent session with a joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Power chaired by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.
Punch reports that during the session, the Power Minister said the 700-megawatt (MW) Zungeru hydropower plant will start operating this year after concessionary fees are paid.
He said:
- “The hydropower plant is 99.8% ready. It is almost completed, and we intend to start operation this year and commence evacuation to the national grid. Immediately concessionary fees are paid, and we will start full operation. So, we don’t have a problem with Zungeru.”
The Mambila context
The Minister addressed the Mambila project during discussions about the 2024 budget proposal, explaining why it wasn’t included.
Adelabu highlighted ongoing legal conflicts surrounding the Mambila Power project as the primary reason for its absence in the proposed 2024 budget. Due to persistent legal disputes, he chose not to allocate any funds for the project in the appropriation bill for 2024.
Punch also reports that Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited initiated legal action against the Federal Government on October 10, 2017.
They took the case to the International Court of Arbitration administered by the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France.
They alleged a breach of contract concerning a 2003 agreement aimed at constructing the 3,050MW plant in Mambila, Taraba State, under a Build, Operate, and Transfer arrangement valued at $6 billion.
Conversely, the Federal Government defended itself by asserting that the contract award was irregular and didn’t follow due process.
Adelabu explicitly informed the senators and House of Representatives members that he intentionally omitted the Mambila project from the ministry’s 2024 budget proposal.
He said:
- “For Mambila, there is no provision for it in 2024. It isn’t a mistake. It is deliberate. It is under international arbitration. Until it is resolved, we can’t do anything about it.”
Nigeria loses 40% of power to evacuation
According to Adelabu, the country loses about 40% of its power to evacuation. He told the joint committee that in the process of transmission to distribution, we lose power because of the distance of travel. You lose close to 40% when you move from the area of transmission to distribution.
He stated further that the government can take responsibility for transmission because it is fully owned. But when it comes to distribution, the states must be involved. He said that the distribution companies (DisCos) must be closely monitored by states.
He proposed that they must be unbundled, and the states must be involved when it comes to electricity distribution. He also said that when it comes to transmission lines, the states are well placed to secure the right of ways needed for the proper distribution of electricity.
He said:
- “The existing Distribution Companies, (Discos) aren’t making new investments to change their old facilities to new ones. When you lose 40% to evacuation, it is a big loss. So we need to have enormous investments in the distribution chain.
- “What we are trying to do going forward, is to expand our transmission facilities. Within the next two years, there must be improvement.”
