The State House administration is beginning a phased transition to solar power, which would save around N5bn in annual power costs. It said the transition has become necessary due to the unstable power supply from the national grid, rising energy costs and expenses on fuel and generator maintenance, which gulp over N6bn annually.
According to senior government officials familiar with the project, it will cover the former seat of power, Dodan Barracks in Lagos, the State House complex and the State House Medical Centre as well as its Presidential Wing in Abuja.
The phased rollout will start with the Medical Centre, where construction of a 1.2MW solar plant began in October 2024.
The Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Dr Dike Obalum, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent, explained that the Medical Centre was prioritised to ensure reliable power for sensitive equipment and prevent damage from power fluctuations.
“We are building a solar plant at this medical centre; we intend to generate 1.2 Megawatt. The 1.2MW capacity will help us to become a bit independent of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company.
“AEDC will only provide support power supply, and we will have our solar farm to support our processes.
“This will not only give us a regular power supply to ensure that we have uninterrupted service to our patients, but it will also preserve our equipment and machines from the vagaries of fluctuating power supply from other sources,” Obalum explained.
However, he did not disclose the project’s cost, stating, “The State House Medical Centre is purely a service centre and does not handle the financial aspects of any project.”
Last Thursday, major cities, including the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Lagos and Kano, suffered blackouts as the national grid collapsed for the 10th time in 2024.
In a last-ditch effort to balance its books last February, the AEDC issued a 10-day notice to 86 government agencies, including the State House, demanding payment of a combined debt of N47.1bn to avoid disconnection.
AEDC claimed the State House owed around N923m in unpaid electricity bills.
However, the State House disputed this, saying the actual outstanding debt was N342.35m, as confirmed in a letter from AEDC to the State House Permanent Secretary dated February 14, 2024.
Following this clarification, President Bola Tinubu directed immediate payment of the N342.35m debt to AEDC.
An official familiar with the solar project told our correspondent that paying hefty bills for infrequent power and still running diesel-guzzling generators daily was no longer sustainable.
“It is difficult to sustain. We cannot continue like this. And so, to reduce the huge expenditure, we are switching to solar power,” said the official who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak.
The official revealed that the solar project will save about N5bn annually once operational in early 2025.
“When we are done, it will crash the cost of power for State House from N6bn annually to less than 20 per cent of that amount. It should power all our appliances from 7 am to 7 pm. In about one month, we intend to install some of the components at the Forest car park and the one at the banquet hall”, he said.
Another official who was privy to the details said the plant would generate about 7MW in real-time output, with a peak capacity of 40MW.
According to senior government officials familiar with the project, it will cover the former seat of power, Dodan Barracks in Lagos, the State House complex and the State House Medical Centre as well as its Presidential Wing in Abuja.
The phased rollout will start with the Medical Centre, where construction of a 1.2MW solar plant began in October 2024.
The Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Dr Dike Obalum, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent, explained that the Medical Centre was prioritised to ensure reliable power for sensitive equipment and prevent damage from power fluctuations.
“We are building a solar plant at this medical centre; we intend to generate 1.2 Megawatt. The 1.2MW capacity will help us to become a bit independent of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company.
“AEDC will only provide support power supply, and we will have our solar farm to support our processes.
“This will not only give us a regular power supply to ensure that we have uninterrupted service to our patients, but it will also preserve our equipment and machines from the vagaries of fluctuating power supply from other sources,” Obalum explained.
However, he did not disclose the project’s cost, stating, “The State House Medical Centre is purely a service centre and does not handle the financial aspects of any project.”
Last Thursday, major cities, including the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Lagos and Kano, suffered blackouts as the national grid collapsed for the 10th time in 2024.
In a last-ditch effort to balance its books last February, the AEDC issued a 10-day notice to 86 government agencies, including the State House, demanding payment of a combined debt of N47.1bn to avoid disconnection.
AEDC claimed the State House owed around N923m in unpaid electricity bills.
However, the State House disputed this, saying the actual outstanding debt was N342.35m, as confirmed in a letter from AEDC to the State House Permanent Secretary dated February 14, 2024.
Following this clarification, President Bola Tinubu directed immediate payment of the N342.35m debt to AEDC.
An official familiar with the solar project told our correspondent that paying hefty bills for infrequent power and still running diesel-guzzling generators daily was no longer sustainable.
“It is difficult to sustain. We cannot continue like this. And so, to reduce the huge expenditure, we are switching to solar power,” said the official who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak.
The official revealed that the solar project will save about N5bn annually once operational in early 2025.
“When we are done, it will crash the cost of power for State House from N6bn annually to less than 20 per cent of that amount. It should power all our appliances from 7 am to 7 pm. In about one month, we intend to install some of the components at the Forest car park and the one at the banquet hall”, he said.
Another official who was privy to the details said the plant would generate about 7MW in real-time output, with a peak capacity of 40MW.