Power generation fell by 1,400 MW as Discos rejected allocations

The federal government’s efforts to increase electricity production appear to be failing due to the refusal of distribution companies to accept the power allocated to them.

Energy Minister Adebayo Adelabu condemned the rejection of power by distribution companies, describing it as deplorable, he revealed in a statement on Sunday.

According to the minister, on Friday production peaked at 5,170 megawatts, “unfortunately, it had to be reduced by 1,400 MW due to the inability of Discos to take over supplies.”

Adelabu lamented the development, saying: “It is truly regrettable considering that the government is on track to increase power generation to 6,000 MW by the end of the year.”

The minister disclosed this information during a visit to the TBEA Southern Power Transmission and Distribution Industry plant in Beijing, China.

Adelabu, who was in China for the China-Africa Cooperation Summit, also revealed that the federal government has finalised plans to allocate $800 million for the construction of substations and distribution lines under the Presidential Power Initiative.

He added that the money would cover the cost of building a substation for Lot 2 and substations and distribution lines for Lot 3, each of which would cost $400 million.

Lot 2 comprises the franchise areas of Distribution Companies in Benin, Port Harcourt and Enugu while Lot 3 comprises the franchise areas of DisCos in Abuja, Kaduna, Jos and Kano.

During an interactive session with the TBEA management, Adelabu assured them of the Federal Government’s commitment to partner with world-class organisations like TBEA to actualise President Bola Tinubu’s vision of Reborn Hope for the power sector, particularly in the areas of transmission and distribution as well as renewable energy.

Speaking about the problems in the energy sector that are hampering the development of the industry, the minister noted that this is partly due to the weakness of the transmission and distribution infrastructure, which, he said, is old and dilapidated, leading to historic disruptions in the supply of energy to households, industry and businesses.

According to him, over 59 percent of industries in Nigeria are offline.

“They don’t see the national grid as reliable and trustworthy. So many of them are now using their own, home-grown, self-generated energy,” he said.

The energy minister said the government is determined to transform the energy sector, adding that many actions have already been initiated to gradually restore confidence in the industry.

The Minister stated that about 40 years ago, Nigeria was capable of generating 2,000 MW, adding that it took us over 35 years to generate another 2,000 MW.

“When this administration came into office last year, we had achieved about 4,000 MW of capacity, but within a year we managed to generate a milestone of 5,170 MW, adding about 1,000 MW of capacity in the first year. It may not seem like much, but compared to the history of the country, it is commendable.

“Our plan is to achieve 6,000 MW of capacity by the end of the year through a combination of hydroelectric and our gas-fired power plants. We also aim to generate, transmit and distribute 30,000 MW of power by 2030, of which 30 percent will come from renewable sources,” he said.

The Minister stressed that the renewable energy segment will come from a combination of hydropower from small dams, solar power and wind farms from onshore and offshore.

Earlier, TBEA President Huang Hanjie assured of the organisation’s continued support for the Nigerian government’s vision for the energy sector.

He added that TBEA operates in 100 countries around the world and is happy to share its experience in the field of energy supply.

He added that TBEA is not a new company in Nigeria and that it is currently working with the Omotosho Power Plant in Ondo State.

Hanjie said TBEA is ready to work with the Nigerian government to realise the vision and contribute to the ongoing revolution in the energy sector in the country.

In July, the Nigerian Energy Regulatory Commission imposed tough sanctions on disco companies found to be guilty of violations that could result in losses to consumers.

Among other things, NERC announced that it would reduce by five percent the administrative and operating expenses of any electricity distribution company that does not receive at least 95 percent of the total energy allocated to it for distribution.

The commission’s regulation on the performance monitoring framework for all discos stipulated that if 95 per cent of available nominations were not collected in a given month, a remedial order would be issued.