Power minister Abubakar Aliyu says President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime will give about 22,000 megawatts installed capacity of electricity by 2023.

Mr Aliyu disclosed this at the Presidential Score Card of the ministry of power in Abuja. The programme is an annual event where the various ministries present their achievements to the media and the general public.

The power minister said the regime embarked on several transformational projects to provide an additional 4,000MW generating capacity to existing megawatts.

He said as part of the plans to achieve the 4,000MW, the 700MW Zungeru Hydro Power Plant would be completed in the first quarter of 2023.

Mr Aliyu said the regime would work toward operationalising the 240MW Afam III and 300MW Okpai Phase II, among others.

“We will set the country on a stable path for 10,000 megawatts of supplied energy. Today we are at 8,000 megawatts with 5,000 megawatts on-grid and above 3,000 megawatts of industrial captive off-grid, and we will leave an installed capacity of almost 22,000 megawatts,” the minister explained.

According to him, there are ongoing programmes with facilities and investments secured at more than three billion dollars to eliminate the gap between transmission capacity and supplied energy.

“The hydropower component of the Kashimbilla Multipurpose Dam was designed and upgraded from six megawatts to 40 megawatts. This was in phase one of the evacuation infrastructure, covering 245km of 132kv transmission lines and three substations, connecting Takum, Wukari, Rafin Kada, Dounga and Yandev in Taraba and Benue states,” added Mr Aliyu.

He disclosed that the second phase of the evacuation infrastructure “is currently at 45 per cent completion level,” and it would cover a 56km extension of the 132kV transmission line from Yandev to Makurdi and complete rehabilitation of the Yandev substation.

“Phase two of the evacuation infrastructure will lead to the electrification of 24 host communities, including Zaki-Biam, Anyi, Buruku, Birama, Bibi, and Shibong, among others within Benue state,” said the power minister.

(NAN)