The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has said exploring renewable sources like solar, hydro, and wind, will not only reduce carbon emissions but also spur economic growth and job creation.
A statement made available to newsmen on Thursday said he disclosed this at the ongoing Nigeria Energy Exhibition and Conference in Lagos.
The conference, which was organised by Informa Markets and stakeholders from both public and private sectors discussed issues around developing the power sector in the country.
He said, “There is a need for increased attention towards exploring renewable sources like solar, hydro, and wind, which not only reduce carbon emissions but also spur economic growth and job creation”.
He also promised to increase the storage capacity of generating companies in Nigeria to at least 20,000 megawatts in three years, saying he would close the eight million units metering gap in the nation’s power sector.
Adelabu emphasised the paramount importance of energy in driving economic growth and industrial development stating “My vision between now and the next three years is to increase the storage capacity of our generating companies to least 20,000 megawatts.
“It doesn’t stop there will you be able to transmit a minimum of 80 per cent of this capacity to the end users of electricity”.
“Beyond improving our transmission and distribution infrastructures, we must invest in Metering technology. Today we have over eight million metering gaps in Nigeria. We must reduce or eliminate this gap and come up with technology to ensure that connections are monitored and we are able to collect not less than 90 percent of power distributed.
“All households, small businesses, government institutions, and industries must be properly metered so that everybody must account for their power usage and then pay for it”.
The Exhibition Director, Nigeria Energy at Informa Markets, Ade Yesufu, while highlighting the importance of the Conference noted that “With the Nigerian government’s commitment to advancing the power sector in 2023 and beyond, a $20 billion investment plan is set to pave the way for the establishment of new power plants and transmission lines, bolstering electricity generation and grid stability”.
He added that one of the key elements of this transformation was the introduction of competition and private sector involvement in the electricity market, heralding a new era in Nigeria’s energy landscape.
