Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, says some electricity consumers have asked him to slow down with the remarkable improvement in power supply, joking “freezers were freezing”.
The Minister, who was speaking at the inauguration of the 3-megawatt solar hybrid power project at the University of Abuja, on Wednesday, said consumers were benefiting from recent interventions by the Federal Government.
Tegbe said, “Places that didn’t have light at all for three months are now having 18 hours of light.
Some areas called me to say, look, I should slow down, that everything in their freezer is freezing.
“That is what a freezer is meant to do. Let it freeze the food that needs to be frozen.”
The Minister recalled that during his Senate screening, he told Nigerians that they would begin to notice improvements in electricity supply within three to six months.
But he acknowledged the challenges confronting the sector, noting that some electricity infrastructure across the country was more than 40 years old.
“Some of the infrastructure we have in the electricity and power sector are more than 40 years old. We’re systematically replacing them, phasing them out and bringing new ones,” Tegbe said.
The Minister also raised concerns over the vandalism of critical power infrastructure, disclosing that three major transmission towers in Birnin Kebbi had been brought down by vandals.
He said the affected towers were part of infrastructure supplying electricity to Kebbi State and extending to Niger Republic.
He said the vandals attacked the foundations of the towers before bringing them down and cutting sections of the structures for sale in the scrap market.
“You will not believe how many towers get pulled down by vandals,” he said.
Tegbe said the Federal Government had consequently established a joint working committee involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Police Force and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to monitor and protect national electricity assets.
He added that the government was working to ensure that vandalism of critical electricity infrastructure was treated as a serious criminal offence.
On the University solar project, Tegbe said the facility combines a 3.3-megawatt solar array with 3MW AC output capacity and battery storage to provide reliable electricity to critical university facilities.
He said the project would power lecture halls, laboratories, ICT facilities, administrative buildings, campus lighting and other essential services.
Tegbe said more than 58,726 students were expected to benefit from the project, which has 6,078 photovoltaic panels and 388 streetlights installed across the university.
The Managing Director of the REA, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, described the project as a significant milestone under the Energising Education Programme.
On his part, the Vice-Chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University, Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi, said dependable electricity was critical to the institution’s academic mission.
