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Siemens to supply Nigeria mega transformers

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By Abraham Adekunle

Siemens Energy is set to begin delivery of mega transformers to Nigeria.

Siemens Energy is set to start delivering to Nigeria the Mega Transformers ordered by the Federal Government of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidential Power Initiative (PPI). Special Adviser, Media to the Minister of Power, Mallam Isa Sanusi, said in a statement in Abuja on Saturday, July 30th, 2022 that the transformers have successfully undergone factory acceptance tests at Siemens’ transformers factory in Trento, Italy. He said that the Managing Director of Federal Government of Nigeria Power Company (FGN-Power), Mr. Kenny Anuwe led a delegation that included engineers from Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to witness the factory acceptance test conducted on July 28th, 2022.

According to Sanusi, the factory acceptance test is a requirement before Siemens Energy can start delivering the transformers to Nigeria. He said that the first batch of the transformers are expected to start arriving in Nigeria in September. Sanusi quotes the Minister of Power to have said that the successful factory acceptance test shows that Nigeria’s partnership and engagement with Siemens Energy is on track. Also, the minister is also quoted to have said that the acceptance shows that the Federal Government is committed to addressing Nigeria’s electricity challenges.

Nigeria’s electricity challenges transcend mega transformers, says critic.

As Nigeria’s national power grid has collapsed a number of times this year alone, concerned citizens, stakeholders and critics of the Buhari administration have expressed their view on the challenges. In 2022, the national grid has collapsed seven times, the latest being in July. Since electricity was privatized in 2013, Nigeria’s national grid has collapsed more than 130 times. The power generation companies and transmission companies have complained of deliberate sabotage and vandalization of transmission lines and have tendered that as the cause of the collapse of the grid.

In a bid to proposing solutions to the electricity challenges of the country, different critics and stakeholders have proposed different measures that the Federal Government can take to tackle this challenge. Some have proposed a decentralized grid system as it is used in the United States of America, while some maintain that the system used in Britain should still remain. Many critics have also pointed to increasing the security personnel around the transmission line to prevent sabotage and vandalism because no matter how many transformers are bought or the number of repairs carried out, when these problems remain unsolved, Nigeria will continue to battle electricity problems.

Minister of Power secured FEC’s approval to boost power supply under PPI.

Mr. Sanusi said that this success with Siemens Energy came after the minister led a delegation to Germany in April 2022, where he visited Siemens Energy factories in Berlin and Frankfurt (Germany). He said that the minister held meetings during the trip with the senior leadership of Siemens on the need to fast-track the delivery of Nigeria’s early orders that will kickstart the transformation in the electricity sector. Sanusi said that the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, and the Minister of Power secured the approval of the Federal Executive Council of 63 million euros for the procurement of equipment to boost power supplies under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).

“The first phase will provide 10 mobile power sub-stations and 10 mega transformers that will be deployed across the country to boost and stabilize electricity supplies. In 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari initiated the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) that will enable Siemens Energy to upgrade Nigeria’s electricity systems. The first phase of the PPI seeks to modernize, rehabilitate, and expand the national grid by investing in the electricity value chain, including generation, transmission and distribution systems,” Sanusi said.

Presidential candidate learns Egypt’s electricity model.

The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, decided to go to Egypt on June 14th, 2022 to study the country’s power generation and distribution mechanism. Siemens Energy has been revealed to be one of the major corporations supporting Egypt’s electricity sector. In 2020, Siemens contributed to Egypt’s energy sector with a new service center and training academy. In 2021, Siemens supported Egypt in the development of their Green Hydrogen Industry. They have also been revealed to be the manufacturer of the equipment that Egypt uses in the generation and transmission of power in their country.


Related Links

Siemens Energy: Website

 


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