Jigawa Chides FG For Sabotaging Private Solar Power Project

Jigawa Chides FG For Sabotaging Private Solar Power Project

Jigawa State government has expressed dismay over the attitude of federal government’s power regulatory body, which created two years delay to the take off of three private solar power projects in the state.

The state deputy governor, Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, who is also the chairman of the state investment committee, stated this in an interview with journalists in his office.

He said based on the importance the state government attaches0 to power supply, solar powered investors was the first set to enjoyed new land allocation reformed in the state.

Hadejia noted that since 2016 the state government completed all procedure for allocating land and also issued Certificate of Occupancy (CoO) to the solar powered companies that signed agreement for establishing their power generating plants in the state.

He explained that in line with federal government’s power policy, any private company that generate power has to sell it to federal government in bulk.

He said, “Based on this, any company must sign an agreement with the power regulatory body before starting generation. 

“In 2016, the federal power regulatory body fix the solar power price at 42 cent par KH and signed agreement with the companies on that price, later on in 2017 they slash it down to 17 par KH and now in 2018 they are also plan to review it to 9 cent par KH, this policyi nconsistency is seriously holding the neck of those company that indicate interest to invest into the sector.

“For how long will it take federal government to arrive at the price that is convenient for her? The kind of lackadaisical attitude shown towards the sector, which is very critical to the country’s economic development, is quite unfortunate.”

The deputy governor said despite that out of the twelve companies that agreed to set up solar power generation plants in Nigeria, three are in Jigawa, but the regulatory body attitude is sabotaging the whole project.

“Solar power is one of the cheapest source of power and it can spent 25‎ years before reviewing it price as they need not to buy fuel for powering their generation machines.

“If not because of the Regulatory body the 80 MGWT Dutse solar power would have commenced production since November 2017."

He then called on the minister of power to look at the problems critically and give it a lasting solution for the benefit of the nation. 

Read More at: https://leadership.ng/2018/03/03/jigawa-chides-fg-sabotaging-private-solar-power-project/