FG plans 6000 megawatts to improve power supply, says Power Minister

The Federal Government wants to increase electricity megawatts from 4000 to 6000 within the next three to six months to improve power supply in the country.

Mr Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, said this in Abuja on Monday, March 11, while meeting with the Heads of Power Agencies and other stakeholders in the industry.

The Minister said, “4000 megawatts is not acceptable, and we have plans to increase the megawatts to a minimum of 6000 to 6500 within the next three to six months.

“What we are looking at is to have an agreement to ramp up to a minimum of 6000 megawatts within the next three to six months.

“I know that the highest we ever generated was 5,700 megawatts about three years ago, that was specifically in Nov. 2021.

“And these 5700 megawatts were also distributed. If we could achieve 5,700 at that time, I believe we still have the infrastructure to generate between 6,000 and 6,500,” he added.

He said that he had visited many generation companies and confirmed that they had the installed capacity to generate 6000 megawatts.

Adelabu said a large percentage of the installed capacity is operational, but they are unavailable because of low or shortage in gas supply.

He said, ”Once there is gas supply, we want to ramp up generation to a minimum of 6,000 megawatts.”

The Power Minister stated that he received information about a couple of improvements in the sector, but that is not still acceptable until there is a quantum leap in terms of stable electricity supply.

“We need to do what we need to do to get the power sector to the desired level. Nigerians deserve the right to ask for good governance from people that are elected to power.

“They deserve the right to ask for improvement in service. People cannot be paying for darkness. What they should be paying for is light. And there should be consistent improvement in supply on a daily basis.

“So, I also want to use the opportunity to reassure Nigerians that what we are experiencing is temporary. We are addressing the root cause of all these issues.”

Adelabu said that the Ministry of Power and the agencies under it are working day and night to ensure that the situation is reversed within a very short time.