Power outages remain despite rise in generation, ministerial promise

Nigeria’s electricity generation rose to 4,020.41 megawatts (MW) on Monday from 3,500MW, but the increase has yet to translate into adequate supply for consumers across the country.

This comes as the promise last Thursday by the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, to restore normalcy in power supply within 72 hours expired two days ago.

Data obtained from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) showed that 20 power plants were connected to the national grid as of 1.0pm yesterday, producing a combined 4,020.41MW. The output was below Sunday’s peak generation of 4,253.6MW but above the off-peak figure of 3,862.17MW.

Last Thursday, generation had dropped to 3,659MW from 3,996MW recorded the previous day, worsening supply conditions across several parts of the country.

Promising restoration within 72 hours, the Ministry of Power had ruled out a major or systemic national grid failure, explaining that preliminary assessments linked the disruptions to maintenance and operational challenges across parts of the power value chain, alongside declining generation.

An analysis of Monday’s generation profile showed that Afam VI contributed the highest output of 519MW, followed by Shiroro Hydro Power Plant with 445MW and Azura-Edo Independent Power Plant with 438MW. Egbin Power Plant, with an installed capacity of 1,320MW, contributed 108MW.

Meanwhile, load allocation to the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) stood at a combined 3,195MW as of 5:07pm yesterday; Abuja DisCo received 581MW; Ikeja 467MW; Eko 458MW and Ibadan 359MW.

Others were Port Harcourt, 294MW; Benin, 243MW; Enugu, 233MW; Kano, 173MW; Kaduna, 167MW; Jos, 146MW; and Yola, 74MW.

In his update on the power situation, Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said electricity had been restored to many communities affected by recent disruptions, particularly in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara and the Federal Capital Territory.

He disclosed that the vandalised Benin-Egbin 330kV transmission line had been repaired and returned to service, helping to raise electricity supply to the Lagos Complex to more than 1,000MW. However, he acknowledged that some locations were still experiencing outages.

“Our priority continues to be the provision of reliable electricity to Nigerians,” he said.

Speaking on a TVC programme monitored by Vanguard, Tegbe said: “Let me start by telling Nigerians, especially those in the three or four states that were recently affected by the outage, that I feel their pain, and President Bola Tinubu feels your pain. However, we are doing the best we can, and I believe it will get better.”

He disclosed that the Federal Government had paid N1.23 trillion out of the N3.3 trillion owed to generation companies (GenCos), leaving about N2 trillion outstanding, which it hoped to settle next year.

Tegbe said Nigeria’s installed generation capacity of 13,625MW translated into actual output of only about 5,000MW. He also disclosed that the government was pursuing a $2 billion East-West Super Grid project designed to support the evacuation of up to 19,000MW, with procurement underway and completion targeted within two years.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, apologised to Nigerians over persistent power outages, acknowledging the hardship caused by weeks of prolonged outages.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Oduntan warned against a return to the blame game among electricity sector operators, recalling that distribution companies, transmission operators, generation companies and gas suppliers had previously blamed one another for poor supply.

“Our major problem is that we have started that very wrong route that we went through between 2016 and 2019. What is that? Blame game,” he said.

He questioned the NNPC’s explanation that gas was available, urging the company to clarify whether outstanding payments were affecting supplies to power plants.

“We need to know whether gas was paid for and delivered, who did, who didn’t,” he queried, calling on the Minister of Power to bring stakeholders together to establish the actual causes of the outages.

Also, Rumundaka Wonodi, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), called for sustained investment and long-term planning to address the sector’s challenges.

Speaking on Arise  News, he said: “Fixing Nigeria’s electricity challenges requires sustained, diligent, long-term execution rather than rushed, short-term interventions. Nigeria needs much more power than it currently delivers.”