Gov Mbah to Increase Electricity Capacity from 70MW to 700MW through Private Investment

The Enugu State Government has announced a major initiative to increase the state's electricity capacity from the current 70 megawatts (MW) received from the national grid to 700 MW.

This ambitious plan will be achieved through private sector investment, as stated by Governor Peter Mbah during a Stakeholders’ Engagement and Consultation organized by the Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission (EERC) in the state capital.

Governor Mbah emphasized that this increase in electricity capacity aligns with his administration’s vision to meet the state’s power needs and grow the state economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, Mbah highlighted that the campaign promise to improve essential services such as pipe-borne water, security, education, and healthcare delivery would not be possible without a drastic improvement in electricity capacity.

Mbah stated, "Therefore, we are opening up the entire value chain of the electricity market in the state for all market participants to play, from supply to generation, transmission to distribution. Electricity retailing through off-grid to mini-grid solutions and from metering to energy efficiency applications."

The governor assured industry players of the continued independence of EERC to operate without political or administrative interference.

In his speech, the Chairman of EERC, Chijioke Okonkwo, expressed concern over the present power deficit in the state, noting that the commission needed to involve everyone from the outset to build the investor confidence required to turn things around.

Okonkwo mentioned, "We have given ourselves some projected targets that within the next two years, Enugu State should be consuming at least 300 megawatts and by 2030 we would have hit at least 700 megawatts.

Right now, we are getting approximately 70 megawatts from the national grid. And this is not sufficient for us to say that we want to put ourselves in the position to industrialize. We want to change that narrative."

The engagement provided stakeholders an opportunity to make inputs and agree on regulations to support investment initiatives before finalization, adoption, and implementation of the regulatory framework.

Seun Suleiman, Managing Director of Siemens Energy Nigeria, praised the transparency of the State Government through its regulatory agency, stating, "I see a lot of transparency here today. Each commissioner is breaking down all the discussions in terms of the regulation and how you will get the permit."

Nkiru Chime, Acting Managing Director of the Infrastructure Bank, added, "Enugu State is being very proactive in setting out how the electricity market will play. But funding is needed to drive the investment, and that is why we are here to provide an avenue to enable all the participants and market developers to attract the right kind of funding to develop the market."