GOOD NEWS! Nigeria's electricity generation rises to 3,730MW as pipeline vandalism drops
Following the gradual decline in the spate of gas pipeline vandalism the power sector electricity generation has risen to 3,730.5 megawatts on Tuesday, February 7.
The latest industry data obtained on Wednesday, February 8, in Abuja showed that the peak electricity generation has hovered above 3,600MW since the beginning of February.
Babatunde Fashola, the minister of power, works and housing confirmed this at an event in Abuja when he pleaded with vandals to stop destroying power installations.
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Fashola added that the recent rise in electricity generation would be better if they refrained from pipeline vandalism.
Data from the National Control Centre on sector reform/activities for February 6, 2017 indicated that Egbin and Olorunsogo I power plants added functionality in an additional turbine.
According to the report, power generation had peaked at 4,160.4MW on January 1, 2017, but this was not sustained for long as it fell to 1,072.4MW on January 12.
The country’s electricity grid also witnessed series of fluctuations occasioned by several hitches in the system, including power load rejection, trip offs by power plants, as well as limited gas supply needed to fire gas turbines.
Industry operators blame gas supply hitches to the power plants as the major problem that has continued to drag down electricity generation across the country.
The vandalism of gas pipelines, particularly in the Niger Delta region, has severely impacted the performance of the power generation companies.
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In another development, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on, January 4 wheeled out about 4,009 megawatts of generated electricity to 11 distribution companies.
Daily power statistics from Nigerian Electricity System Operator, a section of the TCN, shows that power generation gradually improved during the last Christmas season with a peak generation of 4,208.3 megawatts from the national grid, with a record of 3,366 megawatts as its lowest within the same period.