FG targets improved electricity supply with renewable energy

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The Federal Government has said it is targeting improved electricity supply through increased deployment and sustainable management of renewable energy assets across the country.

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The Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, stated this on Wednesday at the launch of the Renewable Asset Management Company and stakeholders’ media engagement session.

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Tegbe said renewable energy was becoming an important component of the country’s electricity strategy, noting that the government was working towards a diversified power system.

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“Renewable energy is not peripheral to Nigeria’s power architecture. It is an increasingly important pillar of our power technology deployment strategy,” he said.

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He said the government’s objective was to combine grid supply, embedded generation, interconnected and isolated mini-grids, distributed renewables and storage with other technologies suited to specific communities and economic clusters.

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According to him, “Renewable assets can be deployed closer to demand, improve access, strengthen public institutions and build resilience into the wider power system.”

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The minister said the launch of the Renewable Asset Management Company, RAMCO, was part of broader reforms aimed at ensuring sustainable management of power infrastructure and improving electricity availability.

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“RAMCO, therefore, forms an important part of the broader reforms across the power sector, designed to strengthen the efficient and sustainable management of power assets and, ultimately, to ensure that electricity is available where it is needed, when it is needed, and at a price that is both appropriate and sustainable”, Tegbe said.

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He said the company would provide a link between infrastructure deployment and sustainability, public investment and private capital.

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Tegbe said Nigeria had for too long experienced a situation where it possessed significant power assets and energy resources but still struggled with dependable electricity supply.

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“Nigeria has lived for too long with an embarrassing paradox: we are rich in power assets, energy resources and installed infrastructure, yet poor in availability of dependable electricity”, he said.

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The minister said RAMCO would be expected to preserve the value of renewable energy assets, improve their uptime and availability, establish transparent performance benchmarks and enforce credible maintenance and replacement regimes.

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He said the success of the company should not be measured merely by the number of assets under its management, but by their operational performance and the additional investment attracted to the sector.

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“Success should not be measured by how many assets enter RAMCO’s portfolio. It should be measured by how many remain operational; by the reliability of electricity delivered; by the public institutions that function better because power is available; by the reduction in avoidable deterioration; by additional investment mobilised,” Tegbe said.

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He added that the Federal Government’s ambition extended beyond increasing electricity supply, stressing that dependable power was critical to economic development.

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“Electricity is not the destination. Our ambition is bigger than ending darkness. Our ambition is to use electricity to build prosperity,” he said.

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According to him, reliable electricity would help make Nigeria competitive in manufacturing, power digital infrastructure, improve healthcare delivery, modernise agriculture and expand economic opportunities in rural communities.

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Tegbe also said RAMCO would support efforts to attract domestic and international capital into Nigeria’s power sector on commercial terms.

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