The Federal Government is currently working with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other gas suppliers to improve the pressure on the Western axis that is precluding units from reaching optimum supply.
This was confirmed in a statement issued by the Minister of Power and sighted by Nairametrics. In the statement, he attributed the recent poor power supply in Lagos, Abuja and other parts of the country to a reduction in hydro capacity during the dry season, leading to load shedding.
According to the Minister, these challenges are surmountable, assuring Nigerians that his ministry has a 3-pronged approach it is executing.
What the minister is saying about power supply updates
Aliyu also noted the overload on the nation’s power plants with the Niger Delta Power Holding Company carrying out maintenance work on its Calabar Power Plant as well as challenges being experienced at Okoloma Gas station.
The Minister said, ‘’I would like to discuss the increased load shedding you may have observed in Abuja and other areas in the country. With the reduction in hydro capacity during the dry season, additional load needs to be taken up by our gas plants.
‘’We are having maintenance work in the Eastern axis around Odukpani leading to reduced power supply from usually reliable Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC)’s Calabar Power plant and we are having challenges at Okoloma Gas station linked to Afam VI power plant..
‘’We are working with the NNPC Group and other gas suppliers also to improve the pressure on the Western axis that is precluding units from reaching optimum supply. These challenges are surmountable and we have a 3-pronged approach we are executing.’’
He revealed that the National Mass Metring Programme (NMMP) has successfully installed 880,000 electricity meters across the country since 2020, in the first phase. The phase 2 which is expected to kick off soon is targeting 4 million additional metres.
The minister also said the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) delivers about 8,000 megawatts daily and an installed capacity of 18,000 megawatts.
He promised that the government with deal with DisCos involved in metre racketeering, insisting that the procurement of metres is free.
Aliyu equally explained that the government is expediting action on the installation of 10 power transformers with ten more mobile substations for massive improvement of electricity supply nationwide.
He assured Nigerians that they will see a drastic improvement in power delivery across the country.
What you should know
- Recall that about 10 days ago, Nairametrics in its report provided reasons by power supply across the country has been bad, despite unannounced increase in electricity tariff by DisCos.
- The DisCos had attributed the persistent poor supply to the load shedding by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) as a result of power generation.
- They said that the drop is due to low allocation from National Grid occasioned by low generation from the Generating Companies (GenCos).
