Power Africa an initiative by the US government to light up Africa, on Tuesday said it was planning to invest approximately one billion dollars on Nigerian energy sector, the programme’s coordinator, Mr. Andrew Herscowitz has said.
The moves comes after U.S President, Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari.
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Herscowitz announced this in Abuja at a news conference on intensifying the power sector in Nigeria.
He said U.S. was devoted to strengthening the power sector in Nigeria and that America has by now committed billions of dollars in funding the country’s energy projects.
He said ‘Power Africa’, launched by President Barack Obama in 2013 to boost electricity access, is intended at adding over 30,000 megawatts of cleaner, more competent energy development in sub-Saharan Africa.
Herscowitz said the project also aims to unlock the extensive wind, solar, natural gas, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal resources on the continent.
“Since Power Africa was established, U.S. Trade Development Agency has committed around 6.5 million dollars in funding for 10 activities supporting Nigeria’s energy sector, which could pull up to 2.7 billion dollars in investment.
“It has advanced 50 million dollars in financing from the Oversea Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to Lumos, a Nigeria-based solar energy company, to level up it’s off grid solar power service to around 200,000 Nigerian households and businesses.
“Power Africa has support power companies in the nation to the tune of US $100 million capital expenditure credit enhancement facility with a matching 6.5 million dollars in technical assistance.
“And supported an additional US $ 1.5 million for limited commodity to turn around the DISCOS,” he said.
He said that functional power distribution companies were vital to the development of the nation.
According to him, well running DISCOs are important to the delivery of electricity in Nigeria.
“If the DISCOs do not function, the energy sector as a whole does not work.”
He said Nigeria, like every state, must see capital flowing throughout the whole energy value chain.
