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The Federal Government has blamed the shortage of gas supply for its failure to meet the 5,000 megawatts electricity generation target.
Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu,stated this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
He said the government had a contract with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, noting that power generation had remained around 4,000 megawatts because of the problem with gas.
He said there were efforts to resolve the problem.
The minister said FEC approved N2,740,000,000 for the compensation and resettlement of the communities affected by the construction of the 700 megawatts Zungeru Hydro electric power project.
The sum revises the subsisting amount from N19,640,000,000 to N22,380,000,000, he noted.
On the decline in electricity supply, he said: “Since Tuesday, we’ve had a generation of over 4,000, around 4600 megawatts
“We told you since 1st July that we’d be able to raise it to 5,000 when we activated the contract.
“But we have not been able to do so due to some issues around gas contracts, gas to power, which we are trying to take care of.
“We were able to reach up to 4,600mw as of yesterday. This morning (Wednesday), it dropped to 4100.
“So, this is what is happening. There will be this fluctuation due to all these issues around gas to power.
“Gas is not something that we control directly. You have to pay them; they will not give you gas until you pay. So, we are looking at ways to solve that issue.
“That is why we are unable to reach that 5,000 we promise you by July 1 of this year.
“We’re working around the clock to ensure that we raise the capacity to the required level.”