Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu has expressed concern over the growing trend of bulk electricity consumers abandoning the national grid to generate their own power.
He made this convern known at the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company’s Board retreat in Lagos on Thursday.
Despite a record 5,155MW generation, Adelabu noted that the majority of industries and bulk users have lost trust in the grid due to past unreliability, opting for more expensive captive power plants.
Adelabu highlighted the significant cost disparity, citing captive power production costs of N350-N400/kWh for gas-connected users, N950/kWh for diesel, and N550/kWh for petrol. In contrast, grid connection offers a cheaper source of power.
To address this, the minister announced plans to restore trust and confidence in the grid, aiming to encourage bulk users to reconnect. He set ambitious targets, including achieving 6 gigawatts by December 2024 and 30GW by 2030, with 30% from renewable energy sources.
Read Also: Bolt, Uber drivers hit as Chidimma’s withdrawal sparks digital ‘war’ between Nigerians, South Africans
Adelabu emphasized the need for alignment on guiding principles and strategies to drive progress in the power sector, urging stakeholders to work together to achieve universal access to electricity.
He said, “The majority of bulk electricity users, such as industries, are off the grid due to lack of trust and confidence in the past.
“They now have their own captive power plants in their industries which is more expensive.”
According to him, the continued use of captive power rather than grid connection is more expensive.
“The average cost of producing captive power is about N350 to N400 per kilowatt-hour for those connected to gas lines. For diesel, it’s about N950 while petrol is about N550,” he said.
The post ELECTRICITY: Adelabu laments, says bulk customers dumping national grid to generate own power appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Naomisophyblog.
