Perhaps Nigerians will now have little respite as regards power supply situation in the country, as the Federal Government on Saturday stated that the mega transformers it ordered under the Presidential Power Initiative had successfully undergone a factory acceptance test at Siemens’ transformers factory in Trento, Italy.
According to the government, the “first batch of the transformers are expected to arrive in Nigeria in September 2022.”
Isa Sanusi, spokesperson to the Minister of Power, in a statement issued in Abuja, said the Managing Director, Federal Government of Nigeria Power Company, Kenny Anuwe, led Nigeria’s delegation to the factory in Italy…..
He said the delegation, which had engineers from Transmission Company of Nigeria, witnessed the factory acceptance test conducted on July 28, 2022, in Italy. “The factory acceptance test paves the way for Siemens Energy to start delivering the transformers to Nigeria,” he said.
This is happening after the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, led a delegation to Germany in April where he paid visits to Siemens Energy factories in Berlin and Frankfurt. He said the minister also held meetings with the senior leadership of Siemens Energy on the need to fast-track the delivery of the early orders that would kickstart the transformation of Nigeria’s electricity.
The minister was quoted as saying, “The successful factory acceptance test shows Nigeria’s engagement with Siemens Energy is on track. It also shows the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing Nigeria’s electricity challenges.”
In December 2021, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, and Aliyu secured the approval of the Federal Executive Council of €63m for the procurement of equipment to boost power supply under the Presidential Power Initiative. The first phase of the PPI is to provide 10 mobile power sub-stations and 10 mega transformers to be deployed across the country to boost and stabilise the electricity supply.
In 2018, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), initiated the Presidential Power Initiative to enable Siemens Energy to upgrade Nigeria’s electricity systems. The first phase of the PPI seeks to modernise, rehabilitate and expand the national grid. It is to achieve this by investing in the electricity value chain, including generation, transmission, and distribution systems.