The Katsina State government has announced plans to partner with foreign and indigenous companies to establish an independent power plant to address persistent outages and ensure a constant electricity supply.
The general manager of the state Rural Electrification Board, Abdullahi Matazu, confirmed the development to journalists during a tour of the installation of a hybrid solar-powered mini-grid at the Government House in Katsina.
Matazu said the solar power project is an immediate measure adopted by the Radda-led administration to address outages and reduce the cost of diesel used for smooth operations at the Government House and Katsina General Hospital.
He said outages had been compounding the effective service delivery, particularly at the general hospitals, hence the need for the state government to resort to a solar power system for uninterrupted service delivery to patients.
The general manager said the solar-powered project would cover all general hospitals in the state and that public schools would follow. This revealed that three primary healthcare centres in the 34 local governments are connected to the solar power system.
The sub-contractor, Abdullahi Bature, pledged timely completion of the project, explaining that one megawatt would be generated for the Katsina Government House. At the same time, the general hospital would get up to 250 kilowatts.
This development is expected to relieve the people of Katsina State, who have been grappling with power outages and the high cost of diesel for generators.
Establishing an independent power plant is also expected to boost the state’s industrial growth and economic development.
