Nigeria at the weekend achieved a new high in electricity generation as it now produces 4,160 megawatts (MW) plus 260MW serving as reserve margin.
This means a remarkable improvement in the 4,189.3MW it recorded on December 24, last year. These improvements, according to sources in the office of theMinister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, was due to “continuous improvements in capacities of generation stations across the country”.
The Geregu Thermal Station in Kogi State, which had been running only two out of the three installed units on account of gas supply issues with the Nigerian Gas Company, now produces 420MW, the highest ever, from all three units.
“All required gas molecules now get to the plant”, a senior engineer at the station confirmed last night. The Jebba hydro Station, which has been producing between 250 and 300MW, now generates 413MW out of the 540MW installed capacity. Only five units are working, as work on the rehabilitation of the sixth unit known as 2G6 has yet to commence because of the controversy surrounding the attempt to award the contract in the early part of last year.
Prof Nnaji is reportedly satisfied with a new style, which the station’s management has adopted to manage water available to the hydro facility. The 1320 Egbin Power Plant in Lagos State, the biggest in the country, which collapsed about three weeks ago because of old age and poor maintenance of some sensitive parts, produced as much as 949MW yesterday from five units.
The sixth unit of the plant, which was inaugurated in 1986, is expected to return to service by the middle of last year from Japan where the original manufacturer, Marubeni, is rehabilitating it after years of being idle in Nigeria. Besides, the International Oil Companies (IOCs) are said to be improving their electricity supply.The power plant at Okpai in Delta State, operated by AGIP, the Italian multinational, has increased its supply from 460MW to 470MW.
There are strong indications that the nation will experience a substantially increased quantum of power by March. Already, the National integrated Power Project (NIPP) plant in Sapele, Delta State, which started on December 24, last year to test run one of its units has produced an additional 114.9MW. “If not for some gas issues,” said Don Adinuba, Special Adviser to the Power Minister, “the nation would have since last month been enjoying 5,500MW because this is what we are technically capable of supplying to the national grid right now.
“The good news is that all the gas issues are now being addressed in a comprehensive and composite manner. It will soon be a new day for the power sector in Nigeria”.
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