Electricity supply in Nigeria may receive a major boost in the next few weeks as the first batch of the mega transformers ordered by the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) have successfully undergone factory acceptance test at Siemens’ transformers factory in Trento Italy, and are expected to start arriving Nigeria in September 2022.
The managing director of Federal Government of Nigeria Power Company (FGN-Power) Mr. Kenny Anuwe who lad a delegation that includes engineers from Transmission Company of Nigeria, (TCN), witnessed the factory acceptance test conducted on Thursday, in Trento Italy.
The factory acceptance test paves the way for Siemens Energy to start delivering the transformers to Nigeria.
This was coming after the minister of Power Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu lead a delegation to Germany in April, where he paid visits to Siemens Energy factories in Berlin and Frankfurt, and held meetings with the senior leadership of Siemens Energy on the need to fast-track the delivery of the early orders that will kick start the transformation of Nigeria’s electricity.
“The successful factory acceptance test shows Nigeria’s engagement with Siemens Energy is on track. It also shows federal government’s commitment to addressing Nigeria’s electricity challenges,” said the minister.
In December 2021, the Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed and the Minister of Power Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu secured the approval of the Federal Executive Council of €63 million (Euro) for the procurement of equipment to boost power supply under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) — whose first phase will provide 10 mobile power sub-stations and 10 mega transformers that will be deployed across the country to boost and stabilise electricity supply.
In 2018 President Muhammadu Buhari initiated the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) that will enable Siemens Energy to upgrade Nigeria’s electricity systems.
The first phase of the PPI seeks to modernise, rehabilitate and expand the national grid by investing in the electricity value chain, including generation, transmission and distribution system. It also envisaged that under the phase the country would attain power generation of 7500 megawatts.
