Power generation drops to 2,662MW

POWER generation has hit a low for the year 2016 as it dropped to 2662MW compared to 3959MW as at January 4, 2016, according to the Nigerian Electricity System Operator’s website (www.nsong.org).
The Nigerian Electricity System Operator is a subsidiary of the transmission company of Nigeria (TCN) and it disclosed the figure in its daily forecast on power generation data in Lagos on Sunday.
The TCN said the total output of 2,662.20MW from all the generation companies on Sunday had been transferred to the 11 distribution companies (Discos) across the country.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) operational report for January 4, the power sector hit a peak generation of 4,959MW but dropped to 2,662.20MW on January 22.
NESI said the sector recorded highest system frequency of 51.32Hz and lowest system frequency of 48.52 Hz, while the highest and the lowest voltage recorded on Sunday were 372KV and 300KV, respectively.
The spokesman of the TCN, Mrs Seun Olagunju, has blamed the current drop in power generation on attacks on gas pipelines by Niger delta militants, thereby causing gas shortage to gas-fired plants across the country.
However, since the raining season is over, drop in water levels at the country’s hydro thermal stations also contributed to the drop in generation.
It may be recalled that Niger Delta militants launched an attack against pipeline facilities belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) on January 17 around Ugheli in Delta State, on a day the region was hosting the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo on a peaceful resolution of the crisis rocking the region.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had join Olagunju in blaming the attacks on gas pipelines by the militants on why Nigeria is yet to generate 7,000MW target.
“Today, at its most frugal, the nation’s power grid would support 6,500MW; pushed to its limit, it would carry 7,200MW. So, it is not true when you hear that the grid capacity is not more than 5,000MW. It is growing every day and more projects are coming up. We have completed some and more are still coming up. So that is where we are,” Mr Fashola said at the Nextier Power Dialogue in Abuja on Friday.