Nigeria: Grid upgrade needed to meet energy targets

13 October 2009

Deficiencies in the power grid must be attended to if Nigeria's Afam power stations and Okoloma gas plant are to deliver on the target of 6,000 megawatts by December of this year, the government has conceded.

The minister of state for petroleum Odein Ajumogobia was told by the Shell Petroleum Development Company that infrastructure shortcomings were partly to blame for the country not reaching its Opec quota.

Even though the power stations had been built to produce 650 megawatts, the evacuation lines were cutting off at just 450 megawatts, the official heard.

Mr Ajumogobia was quoted by This Day as saying: "One of the major challenges that has been brought to my attention is that of the grid, which has been failing."

He went on to express confidence that collaboration with Shell would make the goal of 10,000-megawatt generation by 2011 achievable.

Last March, the Lagos Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had been quoted by the new source as committing to doing their part to achieve federal energy targets.

Category: Energy