Joseph Bakare
A fresh data on Nigeria’s power sector performance for the month of September as issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed significant gap between supply and demand.
According to NERCs factsheet, Nigeria’s power plants generated an average of 4,492 MWh/h in September, showing an 8 per cent increase from the previous month but however remains inadequate when compared to the population’s energy demand.
The factsheet provides an in-depth operational performance assessment, revealing key insights into the state of energy generation, grid performance, and the reliability of power plants across the country.
This is coming as the national grid suffered collapse for the third time in one week, last Saturday.
The NERC said Saturday’s grid collapse was a result of a current transformer explosion.
A report notes that despite the huge investment in the power sector, the grid had collapsed about 105 times in the last ten years.
The grid collapse are a reminder of the challenges Nigeria faces in stabilising its power supply.
The Agency through its X account on Monday revealed a factsheet on its operational performance for September.
“This factsheet contains operational performance data of grid-connected power plants for September 2024. For additional information, reports, NERC Orders and Regulations, visit our website.”
The Commission in the September information however said there are evident gains in power generation, but also areas in dire need of attention.
Nigeria’s power generation comes from 28 grid-connected plants, achieving a 41 per cent plant availability factor, representing a 5 per cent improvement compared to the previous month, the September report showed.
The average available capacity stands at 5,533 MW, reflecting a 14 per cent increase.
This is a promising sign of improvement, showing that the country’s plants are gradually producing more energy, moving towards bridging the supply-demand gap.
The plant availability factor is a key indicator of how often these plants are operational, varies dramatically across the board.
The largest contributor to the grid, Egbin ST, recorded a 45 per cent availability factor, while the most efficient, Azura IPP, operated at a staggering 98 per cent capacity availability.
According to NERC, Azura IPP, Odukpani, and Afam VI are top performers with availability factors of 98, 98, and 74 per cent respectively.
The plants consistently generated high amounts of energy, with Azura IPP producing 387 MWh/h and Odukpani contributing 348 MWh/h.
Unfortunately the Sapele ST, Geregu NIPP, and Olorunsogo NIPP during the period remained insignificant in their supply capacity.
The report showed that the Sapele ST had an availability factor of only 17 per cent, raising questions about its operational efficiency and the reasons behind its consistently low output.
Alaoji NIPP, posted a 0 per cent availability factor and did not generate any power, contributing nothing to the grid.
This is reflective of broader inefficiencies within the power sector, where large-scale investments in plants do not always translate to sustained energy output.
Nigeria’s reliance on fossil fuel-based plants is evident, and with such volatility in performance, it is clear that diversifying the energy mix would provide a more sustainable solution.
The report also revealed that Nigeria’s grid performance showed mixed results.
The grid frequency a crucial metric that ensures a balance between electricity supply and demand was largely stable, with an actual frequency of 50.80 Hz, just 1 per cent above the target of 50.25 Hz.
This level of consistency is vital in preventing grid failures and ensuring a steady flow of electricity to consumers. Nonetheless, grid voltage experienced significant fluctuations.
With a recorded 349.87 kV, the voltage deviated 1 per cent higher than the upper target and 3 per cent lower than the lower threshold of 313.50 kV.
Voltage instability is one of the leading factors behind the frequent outages in Nigeria and can lead to damaging electrical equipment across industries and households.
Aside from the leading energy producers, a number of grid-connected plants showed underwhelming performance.
The Afam IV – V, with an installed capacity of 726 MW, only generated 63 MW on average, operating at a mere 9 per cent plant availability factor.
This is in contrast to the expectations from such a large installation.
However, Ibom Power and Omoku plants, despite their 28 per cent and 37 per cent availability factors, were able to achieve 62 per cent and 100 per cent load factors, respectively, meaning they made the most of their available capacity.
This again reflects that capacity is available but frequently underutilised due to operational inefficiencies.