NIGERIA’S power generation peaked at 5,170 megawatts on August 30, 2024, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has said.
However, he said due to distribution companies’ (DISCOs) inability to absorb the supply, the figure was reduced by 1,400 megawatts, leaving the nation to make do with the available 3,770 megawatts amidst worsening power outages across the nation.
The minister stated this in a statement issued by the Ministry of Power on Sunday, August 31, during a facility tour of TBEA Southern Power Transmission and Distribution Industry in Beijing, China.
“This is truly regrettable, considering that the government is on course to increase generation to 6,000 megawatts by the end of the year,” he said.
The minister also said the federal government planned to release $800 million to construct substations and distribution lines under the Presidential Power Initiative.
He said $400 million each would be allocated for the construction of substations and distribution lines for Lot 2 and Lot 3. Lot 2 encompasses the franchise areas of Benin, Port Harcourt, and Enugu Distribution Companies (DISCOs), while Lot 3 includes the franchise areas of Abuja, Kaduna, Jos, and Kano DISCOs.
During an interactive session with TBEA management, Adelabu assured of the federal government’s commitment to work with world-class organisations like TBEA to achieve President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope vision for the power sector in Nigeria, particularly in the areas of transmission and distribution across the entire power sector value chain, as well as Nigeria’s renewable energy segment.
Adelabu noted that some challenges in the power sector are partly due to the fragility of the transmission and distribution infrastructure, which he said had become outdated and dilapidated.
“This has led to the historical epileptic supply of power to households, industries, and businesses,” he said.
He further explained that more than 59 per cent of industries in Nigeria were off the grid.
“They do not consider the national grid reliable and dependable. As a result, many now operate self-generated power.”
Reflecting on the government’s initiatives, Adelabu recalled that in 1984, about 40 years ago, Nigeria generated 2,000 megawatts, and it took over 35 years to add an additional 2,000 megawatts.
“When this administration came in last year, we inherited around four gigawatts (4,000 megawatts) of power, but within a year, we achieved a milestone of 5,170 megawatts, adding about 1,000 megawatts of power within the first year. It may seem small, but compared to the country’s history, this is commendable.
“Our plan is to achieve 6,000 megawatts of power by the end of the year through a combination of hydroelectric power plants and gas-fired power plants. We are also targeting 30 gigawatts of power to be generated, transmitted, and distributed by 2030, with 30 per cent of that being renewable energy.”
The Minister noted that the renewable energy segment would be sourced from a combination of hydroelectric power from small dams, solar energy, and wind farms from onshore and offshore winds.
Nigeria has been grappling with persistent power supply challenges for decades. The country’s generation capacity has consistently fallen short of demand, leading to frequent blackouts and load shedding. The country generates most of its power through hydro, gas and thermal.
Nigeria produces an average of 5,000 megawatts of electricity which is insufficient for the consumption of its approximately 220 million population.
Successive governments have tried but failed to reform Nigeria’s energy sector.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.