By CrossRiverWatch Admin
The importance of constant electricity supply in all facets of the economy cannot be over emphasised. One of the greatest challenges to industrialisation in Africa has been power.
The West African Country Nigeria with a population of over 170 million has been grappling with the challenges of power generation, transmission and distribution for decades.
Cross River State, South-South of Nigeria, just like other states across the country, is not exempted from these challenges. The epileptic nature of services rendered by the power companies are below average.
However, recently, the ambitious governor of the state, Senator Ben Ayade, having made a commitment to industrialize the state which is predominantly a civil service state, has taken the bull by the horn, as he is set to deliver 24 hour power supply to the state.
The governor began the power revolution by taking delivery of and installing a 21 megawatt embedded power generation system in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
The project which is almost completed is unveiling a new concept in power solution in the region.
Just as that was being constructed, the Cross River State government announced plans to commence the construction of another 26 megawatt gas turbine power plant in Tinapa.
Funded by the Export-Import Bank of India and the state government, the project when completed in 24 months is expected to further boost power supply in the state and its environs
The people in the state were yet done applauding the governor for a job well done on all these when he unveiled another mega power project for the state.
The governor signed a partnership agreement with a consortium of energy firms led by Siemens to deliver a 750mw power plant in the state.
The project, which has an 18-month timeline, will be deployed through ship mounted turbines, expected to berth in Calabar.
The ship which will have its hull replaced with turbines from Siemens and run on natural gas which is abundant in the region to power 42 turbines, is expected to generate 750mw.
From the ship, power will then be conducted into the grid. Designed to run economically, the innovative power generation project will aid the state arrest the issue of epileptic power supply.
From the 750mw generated, about 300mw is expected to meet the power needs of the state. An extra 200mw will be kept for stability, while the remaining 250mw will be sold out to neighboring Cameron to generate revenue the governor told stakeholders.
In the interim, 40 megawatts of electricity is to be delivered soon through the deployment of a truck mounted turbine technology.
The power project will not offer any upfront cost to the people and government of Cross River State.
Beyond power generation, the state government is also investing in strengthening the distribution network in Calabar and other major cities by replacing obsolete and nonfunctional transformers as well as distribution lines among others.
All these and more are expected to give a firm foundation for the industrialisation aspiration of the state which our amiable governor is very committed to achieving.
The power revolution is also expected to improve security, increase productivity, support the growth of entrepreneurship and thus reduce unemployment and poverty.
We must commend our digital governor’s effort and support this initiative which is the assurance of dependable and constant power supply in Cross River State.
Emmanuel Etim is SSA to Governor Ayade of Cross River State on Creative and Knowledge Economy.
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