The on-going power sector reform yesterday further received a boost with the German Government and European Union (EU) disclosing their readiness to commit €24.5 million to the reform exercise.
While the German government promised to support with the sum of €9 million, the EU will commit €15.5 million.
The commitment which is within the framework of the Nigerian-German Energy Support Programme (NGESP) is aimed at strenghtening Nigeria’s efforts at advancing her energy policy and regulatory environment, energy mix with focus on rural renewable electrification as well as energy efficiency and respective institutional capacity development.
The programme which is to be implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), for an initial three years beginning this year (2013) seeks to also address Nigeria’s core technical and structural challenges with regards to efficient energy delivery across the country.
In his address at the inaugural workshop for NGESP in Abuja yesterday, Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, explained that the technical support was geared at driving Nigeria’s efforts to diversify her energy mix.
According to him, “the level of renewable energy implementation in Nigeria is minimal, but being endowed with significant quantities of renewable energy sources like the sun, wind, biomass and dams for hydropower generation, Nigeria is taking various measures in implementing renewable energy/energy efficiency programmes to increase our energy mix.”
He stated that the support programme was a welcome relief which will provide a strong platform for efficient and effective take-off of renewable energy/energy efficiency programmes in the country by encouraging private sector investments in renewable energy.
In her remarks, the Country Director of GIZ, Mrs Jacobi Sambou, explianed that the programme would in a separate part support the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) in developing new courses to satisfy the needs of Nigeria’s reformed power sector to position it as a commercially sustainable training entity.
Source…
