The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, announced that for the first time in three years, Nigeria’s power sector reached an impressive output of 5000MW this month, as stakeholders continue efforts to increase power production.
The Minister made this disclosure in a statement during a press briefing on Friday in Abuja.
He stated that the rise in output clearly demonstrates the ministry’s dedication and efforts over the last nine months to boost production in the sector.
He further explained that the goal of the federal government is to achieve 6,000MW before the end of the year, an unprecedented feat in Nigeria’s power sector.
“When it comes to generation capacity, 5000 mega watts (MW) of power was achieved in May in 2024 for the first time in 3 years —
“Exactly in 3rd of May 2024, we generated, transmitted and distributed 5,345MW instead of the usual 3,000MW.
“We all know what we passed through in February and March. But we rose to the occasion, and we made sure we changed the situation for the better.
“Our target is to achieve 6,000MW before the end of this year for the first time in the history of Nigeria.
We’ve improved grid generating capacity with the addition of 700MW in Geregu. We are also proposing the inclusion of 3,000 utility scale solar power source within the next 24 months to change the mix of our energy generation,” Adelabu said.
Backstory
Earlier in March, Adelabu said that the Federal Government plans to escalate the electricity generation capacity from 3,500 megawatts to 6,500 megawatts within the next three to six months.
He stated that the objective was to improve the power supply nationwide to satisfy the increasing energy needs.
Adelabu described the government’s plan to focus on delivering services to customers in higher billing brackets initially, then progressively improving services for all customer segments through targeted investments in infrastructure.
He explained that the critical need to stimulate demand through active customer interaction, ensuring the effective use of generated power, and highlighted the need for efficient distribution to reduce wastage.
The minister noted the government’s commitment to enhancing the sector’s performance through substantial investments in infrastructure and efficient customer response.
He highlighted the importance of extensive changes and transformation in every part of the power sector, concentrating on challenges like metering, vandalism, debt collection, and customer relations.
“3,500 megawatts is not acceptable, and we have plans to increase the capacity to a minimum of 6,000 to 6,500 within the next three to six months,” he said.
