TheCable

The federal government says 20 power transformers and mobile stations will be delivered from Germany and installed in the country by May 2023. 

President Muhammadu Buhari gave the hint on Thursday when he hosted officials of Siemens Energy AG at the statehouse in Abuja.

The officials included Christian Bruch, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Siemens Energy; Nadia Haakansson, CEO of Siemens Africa; and Seun Suleiman, CEO of Siemens Nigeria. 

Buhari expressed delight at the notable progress in the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI). 

He said the first batch of two power transformers already delivered by Siemens would be inaugurated in November. 

“I have been reliably assured that 10 power transformers and 10 mobile substations would have been completely delivered and installed by May 2023,” he said. 

“This is in spite of production challenges and constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has severely impacted global production and supply chain.”

Therefore, the president promised that the federal government would be dedicated to the partnership with Siemens and the German government to improve electricity generation in Nigeria.

He added that the outcome of the collaboration between Nigeria and Siemens would deliver critical business enablers and opportunities to engage young enterprising Nigerians in various endeavours.

He welcomed the training of 200 Nigerian engineers on network development studies under the PPI, saying it represents “a very important up-skilling and knowledge transfer process”.

Buhari added that he looked forward to the 5,000 engineers that would be trained by the end of the programme.

Recalling his promise to Nigerians at the inception of his administration to improve electricity supply by resolving capacity deficit across the sector’s value chain, the president lauded the German government, which under Angela Merkel, former chancellor, supported the country, leading to the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Siemens.

He also thanked Olaf Scholz, incumbent German chancellor, for the country’s continued support for the PPI.

“A plan to deliver capacity improvements of 2,000 megawatts in the transmission-distribution interface is now firmly the focus of PPI Phase I,” he said. 

“In April 2022, the Minister of Power briefed me on the outcome of his visit to Germany, where he held meetings with Siemens executives. That visit was fruitful in emphasising the need to expedite the delivery of the pilot PPI project, elements of which have started arriving in the country.

“The minister also mentioned that you, Dr Bruch, will pay a visit to Nigeria, and we are glad that you are with us today.

“The PPI remains a priority project for our administration, and Nigerians believe in the value that the Siemens’ brand can deliver.

“On our part, nothing is spared to ensure we improve the lives and livelihoods of our citizens.”

Buhari thanked the government of Germany for approving Euler Hermes, an international insurance company, to provide cover for the financing of the PPI pilot project. 

He said this would serve as a template for the subsequent phases.  

In December 2021, the federal executive council (FEC) approved $1.9 million and €62.9 million for phase one of the PPI.