Nigerians Report Improved Electricity Supply But Experts Say it’s Flash in a Pan
- Nigerian have reported that there is improved electricity supply in the past seven days after some distribution companies were taken over by the Nigerian government
- Reports say that current power generation and distribution stand at 4,000MW, which is a 5 per cent increase
- Experts have said it is not time to celebrate as such improvements happen during the rainy seasons
As the Nigerian government took over some distressed Distribution Companies penultimate week, electricity consumers in Nigeria have reported improved power supply in their areas.
Some said the takeover of the distressed DisCos sent a strong signal to many players in the electricity sector that it is no longer business as usual.
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Over 5 per cent improvement recorded
It is reported that power generation has improved over the last seven days after the national grid collapsed a record eight times in two months.
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Nairametrics reported that Nigeria generated a total of 95,116MWh of power on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, which is an improvement of 5 per cent when compared to 90,621.28MWh recorded the previous day, and it represents the highest in over two months.
The Transmission Company stated that the last time Nigeria's energy got to 95,000MWh was in May 2022, when power generation hit 96,278.96MWh.
But energy analysts have said this is not the first time the country will generate plenty of power, saying such scenarios are common during wet seasons when the dams are filled with water.
Not yet Uhuru
Kehinde Yusuf, an energy analyst, asked Nigerians not to be too optimistic about the improved power supply. He said there was a time Nigeria generated more than 7,000MW.
Yusuf said:
“Remember when Fashola was Minister of Power, at some point Nigeria generated over 7,000MW but could only transmit 5,000MW due to poor infrastructure.”
Charles Okoroafor, another energy policy analyst, told Legit.ng that it will be too soon to celebrate improved power supply as that may be a flash in the pan.
Okoroafor said:
“Nothing about improved power supply excites me in Nigeria until there is a policy shift by the government in that direction, whereby generation and distribution are given serious KPIs and insist they deliver on them.”
FG, Fidelity Bank, Afreximbank take over three electricity companies over debts collected since 2013
Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian government has taken over the operations of Kano and Kaduna electricity distribution firms (DisCos) due to debts owed to Fidelity Bank and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
The operations of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) were also hampered. The government stated that the action is required to prevent the enterprises from insolvency, among other things.
The companies have failed to repay loans secured to pay for assets acquired during the PHCN privatisation exercise in 2013.
Source: Legit.ng
