According to Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, Nigeria is set to boost its national grid with an additional 150 megawatts (MW) of electricity before the end of the year.
This will be achieved following the successful completion of the pilot phase of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), a project implemented in partnership with Siemens to improve Nigeria’s electricity supply through strategic projects.
Speaking after a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Adelabu emphasized the importance of international collaboration in Nigeria’s energy development. “We have a bilateral relationship with the Republic of Germany that focuses on energy and electricity support,” he said. “The name of the game now is about cooperation, collaboration, and partnership”.
The Siemens project is a flagship component of this partnership, focusing on implementing both brownfield and greenfield transmission substations under the PPI. Since the agreement was signed in December 2023 at COP 28 in Dubai, Nigeria has made significant progress, completing 80% of the pilot phase
.
This pilot phase includes the importation and installation of 10 power transformers and 10 mobile substations, with eight already commissioned.
“The positive impact of this is that it has added nothing less than 750 megawatts to our transmission grid capacity,” Adelabu said.
Adelabu outlined plans for the next phase, which will involve revamping 14 existing substations and establishing 23 new ones across the country. “The entire grid is quite fragile and dilapidated. We need to revamp it to ensure stability going forward,” he added.
In addition to addressing immediate power needs, the minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to renewable energy as part of its long-term strategy. “We have an energy transition plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060,” he said.
“Germany has technology; we have the sun and wind,” he said, noting that over 30 states in Nigeria enjoy a minimum of 10 hours of sunshine daily.
The minister discussed plans for off-grid solutions, proposing a distributed power model where each state would have its own generating plants. “This model will shield states from problems on the national grid and ensure rural electrification,” he said.
