Days after Nigeria’s power grid collapsed for the umpteenth time, recovery remains low at 3,353.8 megawatts (MW).
This is according to data obtained from the Nigeria System Operator (NSO), a unit at Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN.
This is inadequate for transmission and distribution to consumers in all parts of the country, whose supplies were completely halted because of the system collapse.
Checks on data provided by the NSO as at 2pm on Wednesday, showed that 15 plants were on the grid, with a combined 2,347.90 Megawatts.
The data showed that Azura-Edo and Geregu plants were the largest generators with 393MW each while Delta (379MW), Odukpani (196MW) and Omotosho (152MW) were other big suppliers.
At the distribution end, NSO data also showed that Ikeja Electric and Ibadan DisCo got the highest load allocations with 373MW and 344MW respectively. Others with major allocations were Abuja DisCo (286MW), Eko DisCo (273MW) and Enugu DisCo (248MW).
The Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Engr Sanusi Garba, said the nation would record grid stability on July 1, 2022.
Specifically, he said: “Many factors are responsible for system collapse in Nigeria. They include low generation, which can be as a result of low water supply and inadequate gas supply that lead to high fluctuation in the process. This was rampant in the past because there was no strong commitment or agreement among the major stakeholders, but now we have caused all parties to go into an agreement that would bring about stability.
“Consequently, we are very optimistic to a minimum of 5,000 megawatts, MW, would be supplied to consumers from July 1, 2022.”
The Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, who attributed the frequent system collapses to some factors, including low generation and vandalism, had said: “Many factors are responsible for system collapse in Nigeria. They include low generation, which can be as a result of low water supply and inadequate gas supply that lead to high fluctuation in the process.
“This was rampant in the past because there was no strong commitment or agreement among the major stakeholders, but now we have caused all parties to go into an agreement that would bring about stability.
“The generating companies, Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN and the distribution companies, have now agreed not only to generate, but also to transmit and distribute to consumers.”