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From Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, 03.11.2010
As the inadequate power supply in the country shows no sign of abating, it has emerged that the Federal Government has spent a total of N62.663 billion in the execution of various projects in the power sector between January 2009 and February 2010. |
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A document obtained by THISDAY detailing the budgetary performance of the Ministry of Power for 2009, showed that N11,248,709,946 was spent by the ministry as administrative costs covering all its departments and agencies.
Also, N19,932,830,687 was released to upgrade the facilities of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and power generating plants in Afam, Ughelli, Egbin, Kainji, Jebba, Sapele and Shiroro.
The hydro-electricity power project in Mambilla received funding to the tune of N543,876,300, while the amount spent on the execution of transmission lines needed for power evacuation was put at N34,792,132,179.
In addition, allocations to PHCN’s 11 distribution companies amounted to N33,045,702, while the rural electrification agency got N8,045,968,959.
According to the financial record, approvals for virement of N5.45 billion were made by government to cover some new power projects not included the budget.
The record shows that there were N1 billion virement from the ministry's account raised to fund the Kastina Wind Farm, N200 million for the Kaduna Power Plant, N1 billion from Renewable Energy Centre and N150 million virement from Japanese counterpart funding deployed in Koji Solar farm.
The budget performance index showed that the average utilization of the various areas in the power sector is about 76.8 per cent. However, while projects in the generation and distribution were said to have enjoyed accelerated progress in implementation, transmission projects amounting to N8 billion in the 2009 budget which were overdue for completion could not make appreciable impact.
This, according to the report, was due to poor funding, lack of technical capabilities by local contractors as well as other difficulties linked to problems of site acquisition and right of way.
The Minister of Power, Dr. Lanre Babalola, had blamed the ministry’s inability to meet the target of 6,000 megawatts last year on a combination of factors mostly beyond the control of the ministry.
“For us, the year just ended has been highly challenging neither because there was no plan nor were the plans not borne out of shared vision and commitment. In fact, in arriving at the target for the year 2009, sufficient consultations and reviews were carried out and everyone involved were sufficiently committed to achieving the targets.
“However, as a result of a combination of factors, that are actually outside our immediate control, the achievement of the 2009 target eluded us,” he had said.
The Minister, who addressed a ministerial retreat in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, said the activities of his ministry had revolved around rehabilitation and reinforcement of existing facilities, adding that without adequate reinforcement and expansion in the network whatever achievement that is recorded would not have the desired impact.
He said over 1,106 projects were embarked upon to enhance the delivery of power generated to consumers.
According to the Minister, out of these projects, 428 had been completed, while 678 were at present at various stages of completion, adding that these projects would support about 2,740 MVA or 2,349mw in the national grid in addition to the existing distribution capacity.
A source at the ministry yesterday told THISDAY that the low performance of some of the critical sections of the power sector could also be traced to delays witnessed in the opening of accounts for the PHCN successor companies, which could not be effected until the third quarter of last year.
He also pointed to the challenges posed by long delays in obtaining letters of credit to facilitate uninterrupted funding of projects. |
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