FG procures new transformers from Germany – The Sun Nigeria

From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja

To ensure regular supply of electricity, the Federal Government has procured new transformers at the cost of €63 million.

The first batch of the transformers, which will arrive Nigeria in September 2022, have successfully undergone factory acceptance test at Siemens’ transformers factory in Trento, Italy.

In a statement, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Power, Mallam Isa Sanusi, said that the Managing Director of Federal Government of Nigeria Power Company (FGN-Power), Mr. Kenny Anuwe, led a delegation that included engineers from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to witness the factory acceptance test conducted on July 28, 2022 in Trento Italy.

The factory acceptance test paves the way for Siemens Energy to start delivering the transformers to Nigeria.

Earlier, the Minister of Power, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu, had led a delegation to Germany in April, where he visited Siemens Energy factories in Berlin and Frankfurt, and held meetings with the senior leadership of Siemens Energy on the need to fast track the delivery of the transformers that would vastly improve electricity transmission and distribution in the country.

“The successful factory acceptance test shows that Nigeria’s engagement with Siemens Energy is on track. It also shows the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing Nigeria’s electricity challenges,” the minister said.

Recall that in December 2021, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, and the Minister of Power, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu, secured the approval of the Federal Executive Council of €63 million for the procurement of equipment to boost power supply under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI). The first phase of the initiative will provide 10 mobile power substations and 10 mega transformers that will be deployed across the country to boost and stabilise electricity supply

In 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari initiated the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) under which Siemens Energy is to upgrade Nigeria’s electricity transmission systems. The first phase of the PPI seeks to modernise, rehabilitate and expand the national grid by investing in the electricity value chain, including generation, transmission and distribution systems.