The Federal Government on Tuesday in Abuja signed a Put/Call Option Agreement with two indigenous energy companies, Afrinergia and CT Cosmos for producing and feeding 120 megawatts of solar power into the national grid.
Etore Thomas, deputy director of press in the ministry of power, works and housing made the revelation in a press statement.
Under the agreement, Afrinergia will produce 50 megawatts of solar energy, while CTCosmos will generate 70 megawatts of solar power, amounting to 120 megawatts of solar energy, which will then be fed into the national grid.
The Put/CallOption Agreement (POCA) is an agreement whereby the
Federal Government is standing in gap for both the investors and Nigerian energy consumers in terms of payment assurance for energy consumed.
This latest deal between the Federal Government and the two power companies is expected to ensure that, even if consumers fail to pay for services rendered, investors will be guaranteed of business safety, while Nigerians will also be assured of stable electricity supply.
Speaking at the ceremony, Babatunde Fashola, the minister of power works and housing, commended Afrinergia and CTCosmos for the initiative, saying it was in tandem with the present administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), of which power is among.
He further noted that the solar power initiative fits very well with
his ministry’s drive towards achieving incremental, stable and uninterrupted power supply.
The minister also disclosed that, with the current policy and business drive, renewable energy will make up 30 percent of the nation’s energy mix by the year 2030.
Bestman Uwadia, who is the managing director/chief executive officer of AfrinergiaPower Limited, expressed the company’s commitment to the completion of the project in record time.
According to him, “Nigerians need power and the company has passed all the hurdles required, and very soon solar power would be added to the national grid.”
Fashola used the occasion to call on more investors to come into the sector, adding that government is committed to stimulating the private sector to develop renewable energy through right policies and institutional frameworks.