Thoughts by Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad on the Kainji Hydropower Plant Capacity Recovery:
Working in tandem, the common objective is for on and off-grid to meet someday soon in an environment where all Nigerians have electricity access.
It was a pleasure representing the Honourable Minister of State, Power Goddy Jedy-Agba at the contract signing ceremony for the capacity recovery of Unit 1G9 and expansion of Units 1G3 and 1G4 at Kainji hydropower plant, this week.
The Kainji hydropower plant is a critical infrastructure in the Nigeria energy space. I therefore congratulate Mainstream Energy Solutions, the Concessionaire on this project. Concessionaires, however have obligations and this capacity recovery is commendable in staying true to commitments, especially in the evolving Nigerian power sector. This is another great effort by the Federal Ministry of Power because the impact of this capacity recovery and expansion cannot be overemphasized.
With the installation of new turbines in the pits that were hitherto unenergized, this automatically provides more supply into the grid. This is very commendable. Also, the recovery of 552MW since commencement of operations will surely continue to improve access to quality power supply for Nigerians.
All these on-grid efforts are very timely and I am certain that continuing on this trajectory will only enable us to continue to close the energy gap in Nigeria, steadily. Further to President Mohammadu Buhari’s commitment at COP26 to achieve net zero by 2060, it is important that both on- and off-grid renewable energy sources continue to be developed at a steady pace.
As always, the Ministry will continue to provide guidance and support to all parties in the sector.
We must continue to leverage the power of collaboration and exchange of ideas. Together, we are all responsible for the growth we hope to see in the sector.