Nigeria: Vice President Inaugurates Afam 3 Power Plant, Says Electricity Market Has Huge Potential

The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has commissioned the 240MW Transafam Power plant in Afam, Rivers State. 

With an already existing power plant residing in Afam, this brings the cumulative generating capacity of the plant to 1,000MW.

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and Group Chairman, Transcorp Plc., Mr. Tony Elumelu; during the commissioning of Transcorp Afam 3 Fast Power 240MW turbines in Afam, Rivers State on Tuesday

Speaking during the commissioning, the Vice President lauded the Chairman of Transcorp Group, Tony Elumelu and the entire Transcorp team for yet another power sector investment.

“Afam Three Fast Power is an important part of the evolving story of Nigeria’s aspirations to bring electricity to millions in their homes, factories and businesses that provide their livelihoods. It brings into view the importance of private capital in building up capacity along the power value chain,” he stated.

“A major weakness of our privatisation process has been inadequacy of private investments and new cash injections. But the tide is turning with indigenous power and private investors such as Transcorp Power and Heirs Holdings, making significant investments such as the 100% acquisition of the 966MW installed capacity in Afam Plc and Afam III fast power Limited jointly referred to as Afam Genco,” Vice President Yemi Osinbajo added.

In a statement after the commissioning of the plant, Vice President Osinbajo, said Nigeria has the ingredients to create one of the best power markets in the world and expressed confidence that it will happen within our lifetimes.

“The challenge before us now is for the industry to leverage the improved commercial environment that has been created to sustainably supply electricity and improve service to all citizens. This administration has made significant strides in this direction.”

Referencing the efforts of the Buhari administration in the power sector, the Vice President said, “The complete story is that in the past few years we have seen more new money coming into the power value chain.

“These transactions include, Quest PLC that became core investor in Yola disco in 2020 with the transaction worth N19 billion. Last month the National Council on Privatization, NCP, approved the 30-year concession on Zungeru Hydro Power Plant at $70 million a year. And overall, the story of the Nigerian electricity supply industry is also getting better.”

Continuing, the VP disclosed that “since 2020, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has executed all of its bi-annual review processes without fail,” recalling that this was a marked difference from the past.

For instance, he said, “In 2019 subsidies reached a peak of N584 billion in an environment that was very burdensome on the Nigerian Government’s fiscal position.”

But he added that the “introduction of the Service Based Tariff, the Payment Discipline initiative for the sector (through NERC and CBN) and the introduction of the National Mass Metering programme have led to a doubling of market collections in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry from N40 billion per month in 2020 to a record of N80 billion per month in the 1st quarter of 2023”.

He also stated that in 2021 and 2022 “five underperforming DISCOs were brought into a restructuring program that has led to a N10billion per month reduction in shortfalls. If this trajectory continues, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry will attain self-sufficiency by the end of 2023.”

The Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu applauded Transcorp Group for its positive contributions to improving electricity generation in Nigeria.

“What we are celebrating today is an exemplar of the best of Public-Private partnerships. This collaboration has ensured that we are commissioning Afam Three Fast Power today, with a capacity to inject an additional 240MW of electricity into the National grid.”

“At full capacity, it will no doubt provide about 40% of our generated energy today. This is commendable and will certainly improve electricity supply to the nation along with growth of our economy and Gross Domestic Product (GDP)”, Engr. Abubakar said.

On His part, the Chairman of Transcorp Group, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, during the ceremony said that “We all know the importance of power in Nigeria.  We all experience the consequences of our power deficit – the implications for our people, our businesses, our schools, hospitals, and institutions – our national destiny. Transcorp Group is a key player in the power sector.  We recognise power is the single most critical factor to lifting our people out of poverty and enabling job creation.’’

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com