The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has called for increased collaboration between the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to boost local production of electricity components and reduce importation.
This, according to him, aims to conserve foreign exchange and enhance the country’s power sector, aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s vision.
Bolaji Tunji, the special adviser on strategic communication and media relations to the minister on Wednesday, said Mr Adelabu disclosed this during a meeting with the management of the ECN in his office in Abuja on Tuesday.
“The ECN and the REA need to synergise. They need to come together, share research, and build data that will help the sector in the local production of electricity.
“We must do everything possible in this regard, as this will make Mr President happy that in his time, we are manufacturing meters and other critical inputs for ourselves. Today, we are happy that our exports are growing higher than our imports, and we must encourage this and conserve our foreign exchange,” Mr Adelabu said.
He said the synergy will entail research and data collection, which he said would also enhance planning.
“The absence of data is a serious challenge to us as we cannot plan without data, and you cannot get accurate information without data.”
He added that the ministry is planning to have a central data pool; he called on the ECN to be part of the process.
“We are going to have a central data pool, and you must be part of this process. All the stakeholders in the power sector,r including the generation companies (GenCos), the distribution companies (DisCos), will be brought into the data process, and this is going to get around all the agencies of the ministry so that we can have reliable data for the sector.
“Research is also very important and critical to us, so your agency must also work closely with the research department of the ministry, as this will help us in our planning. If this can be done, the challenges of the sector can be effectively dealt with,” he said.
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The minister stressed the significance of local turbine production for hydro power generation, citing Nigeria’s potential for small dam development.
“If we are talking of power generation, hydro is still the most reliable all over the world. We have over 300 small dams scattered all over the states of the nation. These small dams are very important to us. We need local capacity in turbine production as this is the most critical element in hydro power generation.
“We must make use of these dams for our power generation, and your agency will play an important role in this process,” he said.
He encouraged states to take responsibility for power generation, transmission, and distribution to alleviate power challenges.
“States must also take the responsibility of generation, transmission and distribution so that the challenges of power can be reduced. These turbines are what we must emphasise. The ministry is ready to support it, as the turbine is the most important part of this process,” he added.
