The first set of mega transformers from the €63 million Siemens deal will begin to arrive in Nigeria from September, the Federal Government revealed.
The Siemens deal which is expected to significantly improve the country’s electricity distribution capacity, was approved by the Federal Executive Council in December, 2021.
A statement by the Special Adviser, Media, to the Minister of Power, Mallam Isa Sanusi said the transformers have successfully undergone factory acceptance test at Siemens’ transformers factory in Trento Italy.
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The transformers, he explained, were ordered by the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidential Power Initiative, PPI.
The statement said the Managing Director of Federal Government of Nigeria Power Company (FGN-Power), Mr. Kenny Anuwe who led a delegation that included engineers from Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) witnessed the factory acceptance test conducted on 28 July 2022.
The factory acceptance test paves the way for Siemens Energy to start delivering the transformers to Nigeria, Sanusi added.
The Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu had led a delegation to Germany in April, when 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 early orders that will kick start the transformation of Nigeria’s electricity.
“The successful factory acceptance test shows 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.
In December 2021, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed and the Minister of Power Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu secured the approval of the Federal Executive Council for €63 million for the procurement of equipment to boost power supply under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) — whose first phase will provide 10 mobile power substations and 10 mega transformers that will be deployed across the country to boost and stabilize electricity supply.
In 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari initiated the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) that will enable Siemens Energy to upgrade Nigeria’s electricity 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.
