The Federal Government's connecting of the 700 megawatt Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant to the national grid has increased Nigeria's power production.
The second-largest hydroelectric power facility is the 760MW Kainji Hydroelectric Power Plant in Niger State, followed by the 700MW Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant.
At a farewell ceremony for him and Goddy Jedy-Agba, the Minister of State for Power, on Thursday night in Abuja, Abubakar Aliyu, the Minister of Power, announced the plant's connection to the grid.
"I want to emphasize that the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant is already a reality as of today (Thursday). We added 700MW to the grid today. A picture of the meters showing that the 700MW has been put on the grid has been provided to us as information on the testing, which began last night, has reached us.
"Recall that we visited there over the past two weeks along with National Assembly members, including the chairman of the Senate Committee on Power. We all went to the location, and now we are feeding electricity into the grid, said Aliyu.
The collaborative project between the federal ministries of power and water resources, the Kashimbila hydropower, has also been completed, he noted.
Aliyu stated that the Siemens electricity project for Nigeria under the Presidential Power Initiative was still in the planning stages.
He continued, "We saw the President of Siemens and had a dialogue with them to bring in equipment as soon as I became the electricity minister. We installed some transformers, and they are now operational as I speak to you.
"We just brought in the mobile substation, which is very large—about 10 of them—and we are building one in Ajah, Lagos. They are being cleared at the ports. The initial one has already been approved and is located at the Ajah substation."