The Cross River government plans to generate about 120MW from combined sources to ensure a steady and reliable power supply.

The Commissioner for Power, Eka Wiliams, disclosed this in an interview in Calabar on Tuesday.

The commissioner listed the energy sources as compressed natural gas, hydro, windmill, biomass, and solar.

He said that the target would be realised within one year to two years.
Williams said that the state already had two power plants with a combined installed capacity of 49MW.

He said that the government had concessioned one of the plants at Tinapa, which had an installed capacity of 26MW.

Mr Williams added that the government was finalising discussions with an investor to take over the other plant (23MW) in the parliamentary area of Calabar.

“Nobody is happy with the current situation of power supply across the county, and Cross River is not exempted. It is in this regard that we want to commend the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission for allowing states to generate their own power.

“As such, the Government of Cross River is working to isolate itself from the national grid by investing more in its own power generation. Aside from the 26MW and 23MW that we are working to make functional, we are also working with some partners in the area of renewable energy,” the commissioner explained.

Mr Williams also mentioned that Cross River would propose a wind turbine at Akamkpa, a biomass waste dump, windmill, hydro and CNG. 

“We plan 10MW waste in Calabar, 5MW CNG at Ikom, 5MW CNG at Ogoja, 20 to 25 windmills at Akamkpa with a plan to scale up,  2.5MW hydro at Obudu Ranch, and 10MW hydro at Agbokim Waterfall.

“Inasmuch as we want everything to be ready as soon as possible, we all know that the issue of power is not one you get on the shelf,” he said.

(NAN)