Nigeria recorded a 5.20% increase in hydropower supply in Q3/2023. This is according to data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
NERC says that in the third quarter of 2023, hydropower contribution rose from 20.29% (1,798.82 GWh) in the second quarter to 25.49% (2,208.47 GWh) in the third quarter.
This increase aligns with what was anticipated for Nigeria’s energy makeup.
Note that during the rainy season, energy generated by hydropower plants tends to increase significantly. This is due to better water availability, allowing hydropower plants to consistently produce electricity.
The National Control Centre (NCC) plays a crucial role during this time. They track daily water levels across all hydropower plants and manage their operations.
By doing so, they ensure that these plants have enough water in their reservoirs to operate smoothly during the drier months, even though their output might be lower compared to the rainy season.
This approach is vital for stabilizing the national grid. It guarantees a continuous and reliable energy supply throughout the year from hydropower plants, even during periods of lower water availability in the dry season.
The NERC report also noted that during Q3/2023, there was a lack of reliable gas supply to the plants due to gas infrastructure constraints on the national gas network and the absence of fully effective Gas Supply Agreements (GSA).
During the quarter, the total electricity generated was 8,664.82 GWh, which translates to a decrease of –2.28% 7 (-202.23GWh) from the 8,867.05GWh generated in 2023/Q2.
Eleven of the 27 grid-connected power plants recorded decreases in total generation in 2023/Q3 compared to 2023/Q2.
The decrease in the electricity generated in 2023/Q3 was due to the decrease in the available capacity of the power plants as earlier reported.
The Thermal plants were significantly affected by gas constraints during the quarter.
Note that in Q3/2023, Afam VI, one of the top-performing power plants in 2023/Q2 had all 4 of its units (650MW) unavailable for 21 days (that is 22.60% of the quarter) due to natural gas constraints.
There was less metering success in Q3/2023
According to the NERC report, in the third quarter of 2023, a total of 148,389 meters were installed, marking a decrease of 32,670 installations (-18.04%) compared to the second quarter’s 181,059 installations.
During this period, the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework saw the installation of 147,736 meters, while the National Mass Metering Program (NMMP) framework accounted for 207 installations.
Additionally, 446-meter installations were recorded under the Vendor Financed framework, while no installations were reported under the DisCo Financed framework.
It’s worth noting that during the highlighted quarter, customer complaints primarily revolved around metering, billing, and service interruptions, accounting for more than 78% of the total complaints.
