Power sector reforms will lead to sustainability — Adelabu

The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to setting the power sector on the path of sustainability and bankability by prioritising the different reforms being undertaken in the sector saying it is critical to the economic growth and development of the nation.

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu disclosed this on Tuesday, at the Mission 300 Stakeholders Engagement meeting, held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja where he announced that the estimated investment required for the Mission 300 Compact is $32.8 billion, with $15.5 billion expected from the private sector with the Mission set to provide electricity to 300million unserved people in Africa.

He said the stakeholders meeting would provide an opportunity for them to align, strategise and to build the partnerships needed to move from Nigeria Energy Compact, to concrete results, as he called on development partners, the private sector, philanthropic actors, the public sector, and the civil society organizations to rally around this mission.

“Mobilising this level of financing will demand innovation, coordination, and a shared commitment. In this room today are many of the institutions and individuals who can help us shape the future of Nigeria’s energy sector. 

“Let us take this opportunity to ask hard questions, identify the practical solutions, and develop actionable plans that will make universal access a reality not just in the policy space, but in the daily lives of our citizens by powering our hospitals, our schools, our industries, and our homes”, Adelabu said.

He announced the priorities of the government in power sector reforms to include “addressing the market liquidity issues and initiating required sector reforms”. 

“Currently, there’s a huge outstanding debt to the Power Generation companies in the form of unpaid government subsidies which stands at about N4trn as of December 2024.

The Federal Government is already working out modalities to defray this obligation and to ensure that further obligations are not accrued going forward, the government is working on a plan to transition the sector to a fully cost-reflective regime while implementing targeted subsidies for the economically vulnerable citizens in the country.

“Improving our power generation through recovery of idle capacities and expanding energy mix to ensure energy security, and to dilute the power pool with cheaper and cleaner energy source.

Other areas he identified included “Expanding transmission infrastructure to deliver more power, ensuring stability of the national grid to put and end to several grid disturbances and collapses previously observed on the grid, and to further strengthen the coordination and management of the national grid.

“Ensuring viability and performance improvement of the distribution segment of the power sector through strategic programs like the Presidential Metering Initiative and the World Bank-funded Distribution Sector Recovery Program (DISREP).”

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The Minister also said that the Power Ministry is pursuing increased renewable energy through its rural electrification and energy transition drive, to provide a reliable power supply to unserved and underserved communities.

Through its training institute, the Ministry is also working to improve human capital and local content development in the sector to reduce import dependence, stimulate jobs, and build a homegrown energy industry.

“I assure you that the Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is fully committed to this vision and through the Federal Ministry of Power, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, we will continue to champion reforms, promote innovation, and partner with all stakeholders to deliver a sustainable energy future”.

He expressed the appreciation of the Federal Government to the World Bank Group under the leadership of Mr Ajay Banga and the African Development Bank under the leadership of the out going Managing Director of the Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), and Sustainable Energy for All for taking on this mission to connect 300 million people across Africa to electricity by the year 2030 through the Mission 300 initiative, saying, “this ambition reflects our shared belief that energy access is a fundamental issue that must be urgently addressed to unlock economic potential of the continent.”

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE