Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe has revealed that the federal government is currently conducting a technical audit of the power sector to identify specific areas of investment.
Speaking on Monday on TVC breakfast, Tegbe explained that the audit was necessary to prevent the government from spending money on infrastructure that did not require immediate intervention.
He decried the state of the infrastructure in the sector noting that ageing infrastructure across the value chain of up to 30-50 years are contributing to the country’s low electricity generation.
According to him, the government had identified specific problems along transmission corridors, including Benin-Egbin, Oshogbo-Ikeja and Afam.
The Minister said President Bola Tinubu had approved funding for the infrastructure replacement following the technical assessment.
He added that the government would begin replacing critical infrastructure within the next one or two months.
Tegbe also identified distribution infrastructure as another major challenge, citing the burnt feeder panel that affected residents in the Magodo, CMD and Shangisha areas for 11 days.
He said the incident exposed the need for distribution companies to maintain adequate stocks of replacement equipment to respond quickly to faults.
The Minister said the government was engaging distribution companies to improve their preparedness and ensure that equipment shortages did not prolong outages.
He also disclosed that the government had approved the construction of additional transmission stations in Mowe and the Ajah axis of Lagos to address growing electricity demand in the areas.
