Nigeria’s power generation rises above 4,000mw

NIGERIA has managed to attain power generation and supply of over 4,000mw after almost one month of sliding to less than 3,500MW.

Specifically, as November 8, daily average energy generated in the country stood at 4,245.00MW while energy sent out was 4,165.01MW.

Also, the country’s total daily energy generated of 101,903.66 mega watts per hours is less than the 104,784.26 mega watts per hour recorded as at September 23.

The decrease in power supply in the country has been attributed to the inability of the Egbin power plant to produce up to full capacity dropping from 813mw to 660mw.

The BMI said that the next 18 months will be an important litmus test of President Muhammadu Buhari and his power sector reform credentials .

According to BMI, after a slow start, signs that he is committed to ongoing reform of the gas and power sectors are necessary if he is to attract private investment needed to plug a huge infrastructure deficit and build momentum behind the power privatisation process.

It noted that there are tentative signs the gas supply to some selected power plants is improving – with available capacity reaching a record level in July 2015 – at 4,748MW.

This, it noted, is still less than half of installed capacity, but the uptick has been driven by more stable gas supply to the Alaoji, Calabar and Ibom power stations.

According to BMI, efforts to make the grid more efficient – and transform Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) into a viable entity – remain critical to any power sector transformation. President Buhari extended Manitoba Hydro International (MHI)’s contract to manage TCN in July 2015, although MHI has since threatened to pull out after alleging that contracts were breached.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) ‘s 6,000MW target for December 2015 may not be releasable due to the challenges facing the electricity sector.

NERC had said that it will step up the current megawatts of electricity generation to 6000 by December, 2015.

Nigeria’s president, Mohammadu Buhari said recently that despite the tremendous improvements recorded in the power sector, generally, there is still a substantial power deficit both in generating, transmitting and distributing adequate power to meet the actual needs of the country. Although the challenges in the power sector are enormous, the opportunities are overwhelming. As a result, Government is doing everything possible to attract massive investment in the power sector to ensure regular and steady electricity supply for a viable and sustainable development.

He noted that the performance of the power sector therefore is crucial and critical to the survival of the industrial sector and the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which serves as the bedrock for the development of any society.