Electricity generation slumps as six power plants stop running
Powerline
NNPC to deploy drones against oil theft
SIX electricity generating plants have been shut down across the country, causing worry that the relative stability in power supply in recent times may be short-lived.
It was gathered that the situation has made power generation to fall uncontrollably to about 4,652 Mega Watts (MW). The development came as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) vowed to eradicate crude oil theft in eight months in the country.
The daily power generation report issued by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and obtained by The Guardian yesterday showed that only 16 of the 25 existing power generating plants in the country are currently running.
Besides the fact that most of the power plants are running in partial capacities, it was learnt that the affected six facilities were shut down due to either gas shortage, under rehabilitation, technical damage or fire outbreak.
The affected plants are Afam IV-V, A.E.S power, ASCO, Omoku, Trans Amadi, and Rivers Independent Power Plant. Besides, Egbin power generation dropped to 693MW due to the shutdown of ST 1for maintenance, and high frequency occasioned by the distribution company’s inability to pick its load allocation.
Generation from Ibom Power also reduced to 53.8MW due to guide vane problem, GT 2 maintenance and inability of Port Harcourt Disco to pick load allocation. Geregu was reduced to 188MW due to gas constraints and spinning reserve.
Omoku was completely down due to collapsed towers on Omoku/PH mains 132kV transmission line. Two units from Trans Amadi (GT2 and 4) were said to have tripped off due to reversed power, while the other two units (GT1 and 3) were faulty.
AES completely lacked gas supply. As the nation’s generation hits 4,652MW, the estimates show that a peak demand of about 14,630 is actually required for Nigeria to enjoy stable supply.
This, according to the report, shows that the country is having a shortfall of about 9,978MW to meet national demand. Meanwhile, the Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi, has assured that electricity generation would hit 6000MW by December.
Amadi said the commission was working relentlessly to ensure that generation and transmission companies improve on their services by providing adequate power to Nigerians.
He linked the problem of electricity in Nigeria to scarcity of gas supply. “We saw in June how generation capacity went as low as 2000MW, but later went up to 4.700MW. “We set a benchmark of at least 5000MW, but today we are at 5000 MW or more, hoping to reach 6000MW before December,” he said.
To actualise its plans to end oil theft, the NNPC has introduced fresh vista to the fight against menace and pipeline vandalism in the country. Nigeria is said to be losing over 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day to theft and pipeline vandalism.
Specifically, a recent report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said the nation lost over 136 million barrels of crude oil estimated at $10.9 billion through pilfering and sabotage from 2009 to 2011.
NEITI added that Shell, Eni and Chevron recorded a loss of about 160 million barrels of crude oil with an export value of $13.7 billion between 2009 and 2012.
NNPC said in a statement signed by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ohi Alegbe, that it is working towards deployment of drones across the nation’s territorial waters to monitor the inward and outward movement of oil bearing vessels.
According to the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the corporation is working on a range of far-reaching options designed to end the ugly episodes of crude and petroleum products theft within the next eight months. “We are launching an armada of approaches which will include incorporation of drones to check movements of vessels within our territorial waters.
We are looking at the current logistical nightmares of changing staffing at the loading bay of crude oil export terminals virtually every 90 days.
We are trying to equip the navy sufficiently though they are very well equipped in terms of skill set but not in terms of arsenal for patrols within the maritime area,” he said.
On the issue of pipeline protection, the GMD explained that though the corporation is working assiduously with the law enforcement agencies to increase the presence of military personnel in the area, the ultimate security for the critical oil and gas assets lies squarely with the host communities. “The best security for these pipelines lies with the communities.
We are trying to create enough incentives for them to see these pipelines as their own,” he added. Lamenting the impact of oil theft on the smooth operations of the nation’s refineries, the NNPC boss warned that if left unchecked, the menace could invariably make it impossible for the NNPC to operate the refineries. “Most of our product pipelines are ruptured and attacked frequently.
For instance, between June 2014 and June 2015, we recorded about 3, 500 to 4,000 attempts at the various products pipelines across the country.
In addition to that, the pipelines that are supposed to convey crude to the refineries are perpetually hacked, ’’ he said. Kachikwu noted that the resort to the use of marine vessels to convey crude to the refineries is coming at heavy cost. “What this means is that no matter what we do with the refineries today, unless that is solved, we really are going nowhere, we cannot operate the refineries.”
He explained that beyond the loss of crude and products, the incidents of oil theft have also claimed a huge number of human lives. He informed that in the last three years, a total of 350 persons including NNPC staff, police officers and community members have been killed as a result of activities of oil thieves.
Related
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
15 Comments
THERE IS THIS PARADOX OF FUNERAL BUSINESS. THEY PRAY FOR GOOD BUSINESS AND THIS MEANS THEY HOPE PEOPLE WILL KEEP DYING. IN THE SAME WAY THE POWERFUL BUT INFLUENTIAL GENERATOR BUSINESS ARE FOR EVER PRAYING FOR GOOD BUSINESS AND THAT MEANS THAT NIGERIAN ELECTRICITY NEVER TO WORK. THIS KIND OF ECONOMIC CANNIBALISM RUNS RIGHT ACROSS NIGERIAN ECONOMY. FOR EVERY KIND OF MISERY AND SUFFERING IN NIGERIA, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE BENEFITING FROM IT. THIS IS WHY THE UNDER DEVELOPMENT HAS CONTINUED FOR 55 YEARS. GIVEN THE CURRENT POLITICAL CLIMATE, IT LOOKS AS IF IT IS GOING TO CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER 55 YEARS.
But the fear of Baba Buhari sent them running. Who gave them the courage to come and taunt us again?
What voodoo figures are these? Are they saying that this country of over 150 million people need only 14,630 MW of power? What a joke!
Typically in an industrialized economy 50% of the power goes to power electric drives in both homes and industries. well, Nigeria’s industrial base has been seriously eroded, it’s growth stunted. The actual figure should be more like 80,000MW if consumptions as at US level…the state of Texas a comparable peaks at about 69,000MW..but again, I hear you….I have advocated for aggressive plan to increase capacity to 20,000MW by the end of the first term of PMB and quadruple that in the second term…that would be the sort of goals that would help Nigeria.
Not again, just when we have started celebrating some relief in the power sector. Those involved should please work relentlessly by providing adequate power to Nigerians.
Why Buhari? Why Buhari ? Please do not let us down. Immediately you came in you increased power generation to over 4600MW. Now what is this negative news I am hearing? Do you want to do like Jonathan? Please increase the power generation immediately because I want to continue enjoying the 5hours a day electricity I have been enjoying since you came in.
This write up reeks of a lot of mischiefs and misinformation, most of listed power (eg. AES and Afam IV-V) plants have not generated power for almost two years and they have not in any way contributed to the surge power generation that is being experienced. It is a known fact that the power industry has several challenges which government and industry professionals are currently resolving and should be commended for taking us to the current level. I suggest authors of articles in public domain should, going forward, get their facts right before publication. We should seek to generate more power instead of generating panics.
This is the kind of situation that NERC should be on top of. we can’t a few power plants go down and it affect power generation. we especially can’t have DISCO refusing to distribute power allocated to them. what the industry needs to be working on, is ensuring that all GENCO are working at full capacity and every energy generated is distributed.
Some unfortunate officials of government & the APC have been busy in recent times insulting our sensibilities by claiming that the noticeable increase in power generation has been due to so called fear of General Buhari. Now that the volume of generation is facing southwards, what explanations do they Have? Thou shall know the truth, & the truth shall set you free, so says the book of timeless wisdom. These guys think we are idiots, but let them wait.
Are you applauding the gas supply line saboteurs? Did you not read that the Navy would now have drones to patrol the pipelines? I pity the fool who would continue to dare the collective will of Nigerians to rid itself of saboteurs and criminals!
The senate should pass the law of 20 years imprisonment for anyone who ruptures an oil pipeline and this should be enforced rigorously. Throwing only carrots at the host communities has worsened the situation – we need some stick and a big stick too!…to stop thieves you enforce the law, you don’t handle them with embrace and kid’s gloves, that is why the goat-must-eat-yam approach of Jonathan and Diezani failed Nigerians, Mr. Kachukwu please do not fall into the same trap with your “community approach” which seem like the repackaging of the embrace of ex-militants with juicy monopolistic contracts. Leave security of pipelines to the Navy and the armed forces – don’t buy drones for them….we need to get NNPC out of the business of being a bank for every parastatals…if they need drones, let them justify it to the presidency and procurement process….Focus, focus, focus on repositioning NNPC on the business it was set up to do.
SABOTAGE
“It was gathered that the situation has made power generation to fall uncontrollably to about 4,652 Mega Watts (MW). ” MR GUARDIAN, YOUR REPORTER GOOFED! IF POWER ON THE GRID IS AS HIGH AS 4653 MW THEN THERE CANNOT BE A “SHARP DROP” IN GENERATION AS CLAIMED.
Is this sabortage or poor mangement? I’ve just returned from Malsia
where they have efficient power and transport infrastructures. The water
runs 24/7 and all are well fed daily. Malasia had its independence from
Britain in 1957, same year as Ghana, but believe me when I tell you all
that Malasia is a highly developed nation. Our host assured me that all
their assets were paid for with income from minerals and agricultyural
produce. Travelling from KL to George Town Penang, you see sways of pelm
oil and rubber plantation trees as testimony to this fact. We have more
of these natural assets than Malasia, yet we cannot provide a fifth of
the asset-infrastructures as they have because we are poor patriots with
ill-placed values on the oyimbo stuff.
Why! Why! Why? It is not that we don’t have the engineers and scientists, as I often read of the achievements of Nigerians in various sectors of advanced learning. Earler this summer, I was at a graduation ceremony in Leeds, during which many Nigerians received higher education awards – proof that we have the abilities. It seems we are not either capable of converting our academic resources into benefitial outcomes fro our country or we lack the confidence to do things for ourselves. Instead we hancur for things oyimbo to the extent that we have wealthy Nigerians aspiring to buy EPL clubs such as Arsenal (questionable aspiration).
All Nigerians I know here aspire to reptriate wealth to our people back home and it pains us when we see and know that some of our home wealthy sons and daughters appearing to do the reverse. Please don’t think that I will indulge here in a person bashing because I was aware through the media of some heroic helpers during the ebola crisis at home and I will join others in congratulating these children of our soil for their help, but we must not be so foolish as to spend our wealth anyuwhere else but at home on new Toll roads and power stations – sure investments that will profit us all enough to even have a proper functioning football competition at home if this was the reason for some of the outlandish aspirations by some to wish to buy Arsenal – ok, I am Spurs supporter but also a Warri Wolves supporter and dearly wish I could come home and watch them play as I did when Dediare et al played..
the same story ,autonomous authority or national confab report implementation are the solution of nigeria ,God bless every region with what they survived with period.
We will review and take appropriate action.