Power Firms Move to Improve Grid Capacity by 96.4mw

• Power Firms Move to Improve Grid Capacity by 96.4mw

The operators of the Kainji and Jebba Hydropower plants, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, has signed a rehabilitation contract with Andrits Hydro GmbH to improve Nigeria’s grid capacity by 96.4 megawatts.

The contract signed on Wednesday in Abuja include the rehabilitation of the Jebba Hydropower Plant generating unit 2G6 to complement the nation’s present capacity of 3,500MW.

Lamu Audu, the Managing Director, MESL, said the government abandoned the 2G6 unit about a decade ago after the plant got burnt.

He said, “Unit 2G6 got burnt in April 2009 and several efforts by government to rehabilitate it did not succeed. But as part of our capacity recovery plan under the concession agreement with the Federal Government, we have signed the contract today.

“And it is to recover 96.4MW of the generating capacity of that unit to add to the national grid. The contract duration is two years and the cost is €92m. The funding is through loans from about three Nigerian banks.”

Audu explained that since MESL commenced operations, the concessionaire had recovered over 472MW from both Kainji and Jebba hydropower plants, bringing the total available capacity of plants to 922MW.

He added, “In 2017 we signed the contract for the commencement of rehabilitation of the 80MW unit 1G7 in Kainji which will be inaugurated on October 4, 2020.”