Jonathan Says No Rest Until Power Stabilizes, As Egbin Adds 220MW

President Goodluck Jonathan said on Saturday that the his administration

would not rest on its oars until it stabilised power supply in the

country.
He made the pledge at the inauguration of the rehabilitated Unit 6 and

unit 4 of the Egbin thermal plant in Lagos to raise the output of the

plant by 220 megawatts
“For government, there is no going back until we surely stabilise power in

the country,'' the president said.
He said the rehabilitation of the plant had returned Egbin to its full

capacity of 1,320 megawatts.
According to him the landmark achievement was happening for the first time

since the inception of the plant.
He said the power output would be beneficial to the Lagos industrial

layout and its environs while its sustenance would lead to creation of

more jobs.
The president added that the power road map of his administration had set

out the key foundation needed to remove the obstacles needed in the power

sector investment.
He said that stemming from the privatisation of the power sector more

dividends had accrued to the nation.
He noted that the feat achieved by the administration would extend the

life span of the Egbin plant by another 20 years.
“The Egbin power plant and the result shown today demonstrate without

doubt that we have made a strong foundation upon which we are building a

sound and sustainable electricity industry.
“Let me restate that we are committed to irreversibly reposition the

Nigerian power sector as a pivot for the attainment of our nation's

development targets.''
The president further said that his administration was diversifying the

energy source by exploring all the options available to remain the

strongest economy in the continent and beyond.
He said that from now and in the future the FG would continue to make the

power sector growth become self-sustaining and viable by creating a

conducive environment through access to low interest finance and sound

policy formulation.
He commended the Board and Management of Egbin and the regulatory bodies

for a job well done.
He further urged the host community to partner the power station to

conserve the environment and protect the facility.
The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, noted that since privatisation

the power sector had received a new boost to move the nation to the next

level.
He said that for 16 years before the advent of the Jonathan

administration, no engineer was hired or employed by the operators in the

industry but Egbin had hired more than 107 engineers in training.

He said that the revamped units had been moribund for more than nine years

while the new company owner invested over N50 billion to revive the plant.

He said that a lot of work was done in the other power generation

companies to boost their capacity.
Accordingly, he said, that Kainji dam was raised from 80 mw to additional

150mw with another 330 mw to be injected soon.
He said that Shiroro dam's 450mw plant had added another 150 megawatts.

He said Ugheli had increased to 600mw from less than 200mw before

privatisation.
He also said a minimum of 5,000 megawatts would be added to the grid when

the coal turbines across the country were completed.

The chairman of the board of directors of the plant, Mr Kola Adesina, said

the management recognised the importance of the plant to improve power

when it commenced the revamping exercise.
He praised the Jonathan administration for the CBN power sector

intervention fund which had assisted industry operators.

He said over one million homes in Lagos would enjoy additional six hours

of power per day, with more than 6,000 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect

employment opened.
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