Power Generation struggles to stay at 4,000mw as darkness covers Nigeria
Despite a high demand for energy from Nigerians due to high diesel prices and a shortage of gasoline, the country’s peak electrical generation has struggled to remain above 4000 megawatts.
The peak power generation attained on Friday was 4102.7MW, per data taken from the Nigerian Electricity System Operator’s daily operational report.
To continue the pattern of electricity generation below 4000 in the previous three months, it decreased to 3992.6MW on Saturday.
The hardship of Nigerians across has been made worse by the inability to keep electricity generation over 4,000, leaving many neighbourhoods without power for days at a time.
Any hope of an improved power supply is now largely hinged on the refurbishing plans by the federal government of the Afam plant in the next one or two weeks, which is expected to increase generation to 4500mw.
Meanwhile, the most current data from the Nigeria Industry Supply Industry on the performance of 26 Nigerian power plants reveals that combined generation has collapsed by 70%.
The capacity of the plants dropped from a total of 13,461 megawatts installed capacity to 4,022MW when they were last tested in July 2021.
Shiroro plant’s nameplate capacity of 600 MW has already decreased to 248 MW, and as of the most recent assessment date, Mabon’s 40 MW capacity was not producing any electricity.
Gas plants covered by the Power Plant Agreement had capacity decreases at Egbin (1100MW to 606MW), Sapele (1020MW to 46MW), Delta (900MW to 281MW), AfamIV-V (776MW to 67MW), and Geregu (414MW to 277MW).
The capacity of Agip decreased from 465MW to 29MW, Shell decreased from 650MW to 287MW, Olorunsogo decreased from 304MW to 195MW, and Omotosho decreased from 304MW to 254MMW. Azura’s capacity also decreased from 450MW to 421MW.
The capacity of the final group of eight gas plants, including those in Geregu, Sapele Alaoji, Olorunsogo, Omotosho, Ihovbor, Calabar, and Gbarain, which had nameplate capacities of 434 MW, 450 MW, 960 MW, 675 MW, 500 MW, 450 MW, 563 MW, and 225 MW previously, crashed to 77 MW, 33 MW, 58 MW, 23
With Eleme not generating into the grid, the generation capabilities of the government-owned gas plants remaining covered by the PPA, such as Ibom Power, OmokuFIPL, Trans Amadi FIPL, and Afam FIPL, decreased from 190MW, 150MW, 130MW, and 360MW to 13MW, 31MW, 76MW, and 65MW, respectively.