FG To Invest N1.89tn In Power Sector

To guarantee better electricity supply in the country, the Federal Government has proposed to invest N1.89tn in the sector by 2015, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Isa Sali, has said.

Sali said this at the inauguration of the Power Training Institute Graduate Skills Development Programme in Abuja on Monday. The HOS, who was represented at the ceremony by the Permanent Secretary in charge of Establishment, Mr. Charles Bonat, said the investment would boost government’s drive for adequate and sustainable power for industrial growth and national development.

 According to him, the investment will also intensify rural electrification efforts in a more efficient manner as well as help the nation to achieve optimal mix in electricity technologies. Sali, however, did not state the specific projects to which the funds would be invested; neither did he state the sources of the fund. Our correspondent reports that 17 successor companies carved out of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria have been slated for privatisation.

The financial bids opening for five generation companies are slated to hold in Abuja today (Tuesday). Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Power, Mr. Darius Ishaku, said the graduate engineers would go through a skill development programme for a period of 12 months. Ishaku said, “Just recently, I was privileged to commission the engineering training laboratory at the Kanji Regional Training Centre, which in itself is the first of its kind in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.

 “I have been reliably informed that another power system training simulator has been installed and will soon be commissioned at the Ijora Regional Centre of NAPTIN. Simultaneously, a hybrid solar PV and wind demonstration plan is being constructed at the Kainji Regional Training Centre with funding from the government through GIT. These are pointers to the readiness of NAPTIN to move engineering training to a higher level.” The Director of Business, NAPTIN, Mrs. Malama Jubrila, said the institute had trained about 5,027 employees in power and related courses since 2009. She said the move represented the first step in government’s quest to bridge the gap of 17,441 skilled manpower required in the power sector in the next five years.