The Federal Government is projecting an addition of 1,268 megawatts of electricity from eight new brown and green field hydropower projects, developed through public-private partnerships (PPPs).
A document obtained from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation in Abuja on Friday revealed that three of these power projects have already been granted to concessionaires.
Furthermore, the Federal Executive Council has given its approval for the concession of another power project.
Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev, presented the document to the National Council on Water Resources and Sanitation during its 30th regular meeting. It revealed that while three hydropower projects have been completed, the remaining five were at various stages of completion.
Nigeria has been grappling with inadequate power generation and supply, with electricity firms producing and distributing between 3,000MW and 4,000MW for a population exceeding 200 million people. The situation worsened in January due to suppliers halting gas supply to gas-fired thermal power plants over a $1.3bn debt owed by electricity generating plants.
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To address the crisis, the Federal Government has been investing in gas-independent hydropower plants, driven by water-powered turbines.
Minister Utsev highlighted progress made in the brown and green field hydropower development through PPPs, including the concession of the 40MW Dadinkowa Hydropower Project in Gombe State, the 30MW Gurara Hydropower Plant in Kaduna State, and the 40MW Kashimbila Hydropower Plant in Taraba State.
He also outlined ongoing projects such as the Gurara Phase II Hydropower Project in Niger State, Manya and Bawaku Hydropower Projects in Taraba and Benue states, the Katsina-Ala Hydropower Project in Benue State, and the Farin Ruwa Hydropower Plant Project in Nasarawa State.
In addition to concessioning power plants, the Federal Government is endeavouring to sell some power plants to raise funds and enhance power production. Transactions for the sale of five power plants under the National Integrated Power Projects are underway, with an estimated value of about $1.15bn.
The plants earmarked for sale include the Geregu II power plant in Kogi, Omotosho II plant in Ondo, Olorunshogo II plant in Ogun State, Odukpami power plant in Calabar, and Benin-Ihovbor plant in Edo State. The sale aims to boost the country’s electricity output and generate revenue for further development initiatives.
