FG Clears Air on Siemens Power Deal, Says 80% Equipment Delivered In-country

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The federal government yesterday moved to clear the alleged misinformation concerning the implementation of the Nigeria-Siemens Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) project, stressing that 80 per cent of equipment needed for the pilot project was already available in-country.

In a statement by the Managing Director of FGN Power Company, the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the execution of the project, Mr Kenny Anuwe, the federal government explained that it remains committed to the implementing the game-changing deal.

FGN Power Company, the SPV, seeks to also secure financing, effectively coordinate stakeholders and enter efficient commercial and contractual arrangements in order to deliver the pipeline of PPI projects that it says will transform Nigeria’s power sector and improve the quality of life for all Nigerians.

The PPI was conceived during a meeting between the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel on August 31, 2018.

But the project had recently been slowed down due to a multiplicity of reasons, with many Nigerians expressing concerns that it may have failed like many others before it.

But Anuwe reiterated that the initiative for Phase 1 was underway and has recorded notable successes.

He explained that the pilot project remains a quick-win intervention strategy, which will unlock immediate constraints in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) through the deployment of 10 power transformers and 10 mobile substations across the country.

“FGN power company has received delivery of about 80 per cent of the equipment for the pilot projects, which are being deployed to critical sites across the country to improve power transmission capacity.

“Some of the sites include Apo, Ajah, Okene, Nike Lake, Kwanar Dangora, Maryland, Omouaran, Ojo, Amukpe, Ihovbor, Potiskum, Birnin Kebbi, amongst others,” Anuwe said in the statement.

The managing director stated that the implementation of the PPI, being coordinated by the company was progressing and remains a vital programme for Nigeria’s power sector.

He added: “The Nigeria-Siemens PPI initiative will be delivered in three phases; with Phase 1 focusing on “quick win” measures to increase end-to-end operational capacity to 7,000MW from the current capacity of about 5,000MW.

“Phase 2 targets expanding the capacity of the transmission and distribution systems to enable evacuation of up to 11,000 MW of electricity to consumers, whilst Phase 3 targets expanding the power grid to 25,000MW capacity, through further expansion of generation, transmission, and distribution systems.”

He stressed that both the federal government and Siemens A.G as well as Siemens Energy have remained unswerving in their commitments to the project.

According to him, the project is intended to resolve capacity deficits in metering infrastructure, transmission and distribution end-to-end system constraints, power systems and network development studies and securing financing for the entire project implementation.

“The successful implementation of projects under Phase 1 will culminate in the delivery of an additional 2,000MW, 2 million new connections to the national grid, training of over 5,000 engineers to operate the system network, and improved electricity access to millions of Nigerians,” the FGN Power boss added.

Despite what he described as the notable successes recorded in the project, Anuwe explained that the project was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic which occasioned a backlog in Siemens’ production and limited the availability of manufacturing slots.

However, he noted that a visit by the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu and the management of the company as well as other key officials to Germany in April 2022, where he met with the leadership of Siemens Energy, helped in mitigating the manufacturing challenges and fast-tracking the delivery and execution of the project.

“The installation of the 60MVA Siemens power transformer at Apo Transmission Substation, Abuja was widely publicised, and it is enough evidence that the project is going and will continue to deliver upgraded and expanded electricity supply for the socio-economic benefit of Nigerians,” he said.

He reassured all Nigerians, that the PPI remained committed to delivering high-quality, long-lasting solutions, for effective and sustainable economic development and delivery of critical electrification infrastructure to improve the quality of life for Nigerians.