The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has assured of the return of industries to Oyo State with ongoing efforts to ensure reliable and affordable power supply in the state.

Adelabu also highlighted some of the major impacts of the Power Ministry with ongoing projects and grid-related infrastructures aimed at improving power supply.

The minister stated this at the weekend during the Jericho Business Club’s second anniversary Socio-Economic Summit held at the Civic Center in Ibadan where he engaged in a discussion on the theme: Powering Oyo State for Industrialisation and Economic Development, alongside other stakeholders in the Power and Renewable Energy Sector.

Adelabu stated, “If we can ensure that we have a very good source of power in Oyo State, that is reliable and affordable, I believe that the industries will return because the market is here, the population is here and the proximity to Lagos state is also here, and Ibadan is even the center of the Western Region, so it is an attractive place for industries but the environment must be made conducive for them to come.”

The Minister of Power revealed some of the major impacts of the Ministry of Power programs in ensuring steady electricity supply in Oyo State with grid-related infrastructure, especially transmission and projects which are currently at different developmental stages.

“We all know about the Ayede substation at Ring Road, that is one of the oldest substations in the country. We all know our population at that time, we all know the level of economic activities at that time, and the population and activities have outgrown this substation. We have done a lot of upgrades for the substation but it is not enough.

“I’m happy to announce to you that there’s a new proposal for another 330KV substation at Asejire under the FGN Power Company Initiative of PPI under the Siemens project. If we have two substations in Ibadan, then we don’t have a problem.”

The minister also discussed the impact of the ministry across other zones in the State, including Oyo town, Ogbomoso, and Oke Ogun zones.

“There’s a new 32kVA substation in Oyo, a single-circuit substation that is working fine, we are going to upgrade it to a double circuit.

“In the Ogbomoso substation, there is a completed substation. I was there to see the substation, but it is not yet energised. It has not yet been connected due to one reason.

“We are also revamping the 132KV substation at Eleyele and UI under the FGN Presidential Power Initiative; we are also working on the mobile substation for the University of Ibadan.”