The first phase of the Siemens Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) will increase the reliability of the electricity supply to 40 million people and create 11,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed stated this on Monday at the flag-off of the PPI training on network development studies by FGN Power Company in Abuja.
Hajiya Zainab said this would in turn improve the standard of living while providing homes and businesses with constant, reliable, and affordable electricity supply.
According to the Minister who is also the Chairperson of the board of FGN Power Co, explained that the board members are the Ministers of Power, Works, and Housing and Justice, as well as the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).
“The reason we are here today is to flag off the training aspect of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), which empowers engineers with tools and training on network modeling and system development studies,” Zainab added.
Speaking, the Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, represented by the Minister of State for Power, Engr. Goddy Jedy-Agba, said in 18 months, the Siemens project would add 2,000 megawatts (MW) to the national grid, raising it to 7,000MW.
He said, “The objective of the PPI was to increase the end-to-end grid operational capacity of the power system in Nigeria to 25 gigawatts and would create a rapid transformation in the on-grid electricity value chain.
Similarly, according to the Managing Director, FGN Power Co, Kenny Anuwe, notes that the training is the first Power System Simulation Software (PSS) session under the Power Technology International (PTI) from Germany says that the training will comprise the generation, transmission, and distribution to be handled by the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN).
Also, the Project Director at Siemens Energy in Nigeria, Sean Manley, said Siemens had brought in trainers from Germany and that the company was excited about seeing the successful implementation of the first phase of this project.