The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday said in Lagos that Nigeria needs more than gas alone to bring constant power supply to the country.
Fashola disclosed this when he spoke as guest speaker at the 2016 Annual Conference of the National Association of Energy Correspondents in Lagos.
Fashola, represented by Mr Chinedu Ugbo, said: “It is not gas alone that will allow us to achieve incremental power.
“It is our most reliable source of power, yes, but it is only one solution among many other underutilised solutions.
“Mambila Power Station, for example, is likely to be our most defining in the road to incremental power, situated in Taraba State.
“It will potentially add 3,000MW to the grid and yet this is a hydro-electric project, not gas.
“Our ministry has recently publicised our energy mix and coal forms a large part of our target fuel source.’’
“I am pleased to say that the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) is working on a suitable tariff for coal-to-power that will form the basis of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
“Although you may not see it, it is at the point of negotiating tariff with power providers that government, through NBET, and NERC, begins to protect the interest of consumers.
“Solar and other renewable energies will also play a major role in our roadmap to incremental power. “We have recently signed 14 PPAs for the delivery of 1125 MW of solar power.
“Other renewable energy projects such as the 10MW wind plant in Kastina, are also in various stages of completion,’’ the minister said.
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