The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has blamed the drop in power generation on the continuous rejection of load by the distribution companies due to frequency management.
A statement signed by Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, on Wednesday in Abuja, disclosed that power generation dropped by 712MW on August 13, compared to the previous day’s generation.
He added that output from all the Hydro Power Plants and some gas-fired stations, including Egbin in Lagos, suffered decline.
The statement reads further: “The prevailing significant drop in power generation was mainly due to three factors namely: a reduction in power generation by the three Hydro Power Plants by 434MW due to frequency management issues arising from continuous rejection of load by the Discos.
“Also, a drop in power generation by some gas fired power plants generation by 278MW mainly due to frequency management as a result of rejection of load by Discos; and the shut-down of the Gbarain Power Plant due to a trip-off at the Alaoji/Owerri 132KV lines 1 and 2.’’
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Mr. Ughamadu however reassured Nigerians that there was enough gas for power generation, noting that the recent drop in electricity generation was as a result of some factors outside the control of the NNPC.
According to him, NNPC, as critical partners in the electricity generation matrix, was willing to work with other stakeholders to resolve the temporary setback in line with the Federal Government’s aspiration for the power sector.
He noted that in spite of improved gas supply which picked up after a temporary setback due to a hitch at one of its Joint Venture partners’ operated fields, the gas grid was still experiencing low off take by the generating companies (Gencos) as a result of load rejection by the Discos.
Pointing out that power evacuation still remained a major challenge across the value chain with an average of 1800MW unutilised generation capacity weekly due to frequency management and line constraints, Mr. Ughamadu stressed the need to urgently fix the challenges with power evacuation for significant improvement in power generation across the nation.
