The Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) has disclosed that only 25 of the 160 GenCos licensed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) are currently operating.
This was disclosed by Dr. Joy Ogaji, Executive Secretary of the association on Wednesday, at the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Ogaji also added that the current demand for Nigeria’s energy according to data from the National Control Centre, Osogbo, shows that Nigeria’s energy demand was about 28,000MW while the currently available power was about 6,000MW.
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What Dr Ogaji is saying
“NERC has issued 160 licenses to power generation companies. Only 25 are operational currently. The other thermal stations are waiting on the sidelines and if they are actively involved, we can generate an additional 30,000MW. The 25 operational GenCos have an installed capacity of about 13,000MW,” Ogaji said.
She admitted that available distributed capacity had fallen from 9000MW in 2020 to 6000MW by 2021, citing issues including load rejection by electricity Distribution Companies.
“The three hydropower plants — Kainji, Jebba, and Shiroro — with an installed capacity of 1,500MW were also not being optimally utilised,” she said.
She urged that the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has made it imperative for Nigeria to fix its power sector to make its companies able to compete with their counterparts across the continent.
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In case you missed it
The Federal Government insisted that the 5 National Integrated Power Plants (NIPPs) put up for sale will go on as planned. This follows the determination of the government to resuscitate these power plants and put them to full use for the benefit of Nigerians.
The NIPP plants that are up for privatization include Benin Generation Company Limited at Ihovba, Edo State; Calabar Generation Company Limited, Cross River State; Geregu Generation Company Limited, Kogi State; Olorunsogo Generation Company Limited, Ogun State; and Omotosho Generation Company Limited, Ondo State.
