The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Government of Nigeria Power Company, Kenny Anuwe, has reiterated the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to improving power supply across the country.
Anuwe said the government recognises that stable power is the lifeblood of a prosperous nation and has therefore been making substantial investments to address challenges in the sector, particularly in infrastructure development.
He explained that the Federal Government’s commitment is further evidenced by the €161m contract with Siemens Energy to upgrade five new brownfield substations at Abeokuta, Ayede in Oyo State, Offa in Kwara State, and Onitsha in Anambra State.
This is as Anuwe also noted that under the Presidential Power Initiative, the FGN Power Company has added over 1,000 megawatts to the national grid with the installation of seven out of 10 mobile substations and 10 power transformers procured from Siemens Energy.
Anuwe disclosed this on Thursday during an inspection of the ongoing construction of the new Abeokuta substation at Toolu community, opposite Radio Nigeria’s Paramount FM, Abeokuta.
He explained that the new power substation, which will complement the old one beside it, is expected to add 480 megawatts to the national grid and boost power supply across Ogun State.
Anuwe stated, “We are here with our technical partners, Siemens Energy and OTS Engineering, to monitor the progress of work at our ongoing new Abeokuta substation, which is the flagship for phase one of the brownfield projects we’re implementing.
“So we’re here to review the work being done to upgrade the substation by about 480 megawatts. This is really significant in terms of the impact it will have on the grid, Nigerian businesses, homes, and commercial ventures.
“The new substation complements or upgrades the old one. Part of Siemens Energy’s mandate is to support FGN Power Company in modernising and upgrading facilities to boost electricity, which is the lifeblood of our economy.
“Mr. President’s mandate to us is that we must commission this within 2026 to ensure Nigerians feel the impact of the electricity sector improvements.
“We are commencing with brownfield projects, and there are five: the new Abeokuta substation, Ayede, Onitsha, Offa, and Sokoto. Collectively, they will improve the grid by about 986 megawatts in total.
“The civil construction stage should conclude between June and July, after which electrical works will commence. Hopefully, by December, the President will be in Abeokuta to commission the power project.”
He lauded President Tinubu for providing the necessary resources to ensure the success of the presidential mandate on improving power supply nationwide. Anuwe expressed satisfaction with the level of work done and urged the contractor to remain diligent to ensure the project is ready for commissioning before year-end.
Speaking at the event, Chief Technical Officer, FGN Power Company, Ebenezer Fapohunda, said the new substation will expand and upgrade the existing 132kV network to 330kV, providing Ogun State with improved power supply.
Fapohunda noted that power supply to Ogun State, currently sourced from Ikeja West, is often insufficient due to load shedding. The construction of the new 330kV substation will significantly address the challenge of epileptic power supply in the state.
Also speaking, the Project Director from Siemens Energy, Eli Akiki, said the substation construction is progressing as planned: “We are on track to achieve a common goal with our customer, FGN Power Company, to deliver this substation and commission it by the end of 2026.”
