Nigeria hits a record 4,477MW power generation
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- Category: Business and Economy
- Published on Wednesday, 15 August 2012 10:43
- Written by Admin
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Nigeria yesterday achieved a new high in power generation when it recorded for the first time in history 4,307.7 Megawatts plus 170MW which serves as spinning reserve, bringing the total quantum of power to 4,477.7MW.
The new peak exceeds the record level of 4,237MW achieved on Monday, August 6, 2012, by 240.7MW.
According to t Professeor Bart Nnaji minister of Power :“The good news is that every power generated is wheeled comfortably”,).
In August, 2010, when Nigeria generated for the first time 3,800MW, the system collapsed within a few minutes because the transmission infrastructure was poorly maintained.
According to Simeon Atakulu, a former PHCN executive director and erstwhile chief executive of the Egbin Power station in Ikorodu, Lagos State, “it is significant that the new record in generation has been set even with the 1,200MW Egbin plant, the nation’s flagship power generator, doing only 600MW because it is undergoing routine maintenance.
“This means we have a spare power capacity of over 300MW”.
It is understood that the new output increase came from the 600MW Shiroro hydro station in Niger State, which ironically a section of the media falsely reported at the weekend to have been shut down by a group of junior workers over controversial pension claims.
Disclosing that the Nigerian Gas Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), has been increasing gas supply to power stations in accordance with the directive of President Goodluck Jonathan and Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Allison-Madueke, the Power Minister said the quantum of power available to Nigerians would increase further before the month runs out.
Nnaji stated that one unit of 112.5MW at the Omotosho plant of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) in Ondo State will start to run this month, adding that he would soon travel to Ugheli in Delta State in preparation for the addition of 200MW from the Delta Power Plant later this month.
One unit of 112.5MW will be commissioned next month at the NIPP plant at Ihonvbe on the outskirts of Benin, Edo State, with another unit of the same capacity scheduled to start power supply in October, the same month one unit of 112.5MW of the second phase of the Geregu plant in Kogi State will be commissioned.
While praising the staff of agencies under the Ministry of Power for “ their hard work and commitment and patriotism even in very challenging circumstances many Nigerians may not fully appreciate now, Nnaji asked them not “to rest on their laurels yet because power development still has a long way to go in our dear country”.
Comparing the two largest economies in Africa, the Minister noted that South Africa, with a population of 47m produces 40,000MW while Nigeria, with some 167m people, generates less than 5,000MW.
He advised both the PHCN and NIPP staff members not to be carried away by public adulation in the wake of a remarkable improvement in electricity across the nation since last month.
“The only time any of us can rest”, he asserted , “is only when the 167m Nigerians can take constant and quality power for granted, as it is the case in many countries of the world.”
