Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday commissioned a 260MVA,132/33 Kv substation in Kobape area of Ogun state.
While commissioning the facility, Osinbajo identified lack of proper infrastructure to absorb and deliver power to consumers as well as inability to provide metering as some of the challenges in the distribution of electricity in the country.
He, however. said the Federal Government was looking into the issue of metering, noting that over 250,000 applications had been received and processed by distribution companies.
Osinbajo added that despite efforts put into expanding the national grid, there is need to recapitalize the distribution companies as the structure of the current market cannot deliver on government’s promises to provide power for domestic and industrial use.
He also explained that at the heart of the strategy, would be the recapitalization of the distribution companies to harness more resources, adding that part of the process was the Siemens Face Electrification Roadmap, which was recently commissioned by the president.
He hinted that Siemens Electrification Project in partnership with the German government would declare financing and technology on commercial terms, to enable transmission and distribution companies boost output capacity which would deliver at least 7,000 mega watts to consumers.
Osinbajo said the partnership would ensure the full utilization of existing generation of power and eliminate the bottlenecks associated with power supply, to deliver at least 11,000 mega watts to consumers, adding that the partnership would also help to upgrade and expand generation and distribution of 28,000 mega watts.
In his remarks, the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun who expressed delight that the sub-station was being commissioned to improve power supply in the State, added that the project was a testimony of the President Buhari administration’s resolve to ensure stable power supply and woo more investors into the country, urging the host community to guard the project against vandalism.
Speaking earlier, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC), Chiedu Ugbo, noted that about 30 projects inherited from the past administration had been completed, adding that similar ones would be commissioned in Anambra, Niger, Gombe and Kebbi States.
He said that the sub-station would improve power supply to Abeokuta and its environs, saying that the NDPHC would continue to ensure that power failure becomes a thing of the past.