The Nigerian government has said the ongoing rehabilitation works on five power stations across the country will further increase power generation by May 2011. The government confirmed that the expected addition of 978 MW will put the total output at 3978 MW. The five power stations include Kainji, Geregu, Sapele, Delta and Egbin.
The Nigerian Government’s plans to increase domestic power generation capacity, currently about 3000 MW, look more realistic after Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN), a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation, announced the discovery of a rich gas condensate, off the shore of Akwa Ibom State.
Mining exploration and development company Jubilee Platinum has said that it is still in negotiations for the acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in power generation company Power Alt, which if successful, might have a material effect on its share price on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
The Nigerian government has announced the approval of steps for the sale of 11 power firms, in a bid to solve the power supply situation.
Nigeria’s Presidential Task Force on Power (PTFP) has started consultations with IPPs to determine an appropriate level of tariff. This follows the Federal Government’s directive to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to review electricity subsidy to ensure that the tariffs reflect the cost of power supply.
As part of its efforts to boost power supply in the country, the Nigerian Government has said that it is compiling studies of all the abandoned dams across the country in order to resuscitate them for electricity generation.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have announced that they will jointly be supporting the Mambilla Hyrdo Power Project in Nigeria.
Nigeria is working at delivering a full-fledged private power sector by June 2011. The policy shift appears to be a key deliverable that the present government wants to have in place before the next election.
The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) reached a capacity of 3800 MW in June 2010, and is trying to achieve a capacity of 6000 MW by the end of 2010.