Business

20 power plants suffer major problems, blackouts to worsen

Published

3 years ago

June 6, 2022

Following the perennial power outages currently being experienced across the country; findings have shown that 20 gas power plants are currently under-performing, leading to power generation dropping below 2000MW.

Nigeria has 23 power generating plants with 11, 165MW capacity connected to the national grid. These plants are managed by generation companies (GenCos), independent power providers, and Niger Delta Holding Company. Out of the 23, two are hydro plants.

Independent investigations by The PUNCH showed that the gas plants are currently either generating below expectations, shut down due to lack of gas, or undergoing maintenance.

Investigations further showed that the affected plants included: Omotosho units 5 & 6, Olorunsogo units 3, 4 & 6, Omoku Units 3 & 6, Omotosho NIPP units 3 & 4, Delta units 15, 17, and 18, Afam VI units 11 & 12, Olorunsogo NIPP unit 3, Ihovbor NIPP unit 2, Sapele Steam unit 3, Sapele NIPP unit 1, Odukpani NIPP units 1 & 3, and Okpai units 11, 12 & 18.

Also, Jebba Hydro and Shiroro power generating stations are either out or have limited generation capacity.

Other affected power generating plants include: Omotosho units 3&4, Olorunsogo unit 1, Delta units 10 &20, Afam VI unit 13, Ihovbor NIPP unit 4, Geregu NIPP units 22&23 and Odukpani NIPP units 2, 4 & 5. These are out either because of fault or for scheduled maintenance.

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The two hydro plants, Shiroro and Jebba, are also experiencing generation shortfall due to water management.

Further checks revealed that there were fault and technical problems in the country’s largest gas plant, Egbin, which took it completely off the grid, causing 514MW shortfall. In Geregu, the situation caused 230MW shortfall, with reported fault at Alaoji NIPP. Olorunsogo, Omotosho, Sapele NIPP, Omotosho NIPP, Omoku, Okpai, Afam VI, Olorunsogo NIPP, Geregu NIPP, and Ihovbor are also experiencing different constraints currently weighing down their performances.

Odukpani NIPP, which was recently shut down due to gas pipeline pigging, is also yet to fully bounce back to full generation capacity.

However, 16 gas plants were on weekend back on the national grid with Delta Power generating the highest at 332MW.

Also on the grid are: Rivers IPP (160MW), Sapele (53MW), Sapele NIPP (94.90MW), and Shiroro Hydro (122MW).

Power generation was put at 1,936.90 mega watts from 3,647MW last recorded.

The Ministry of Power over the weekend confirmed The PUNCH findings when it released a statement apologising to the public over the current dip and stated that there was a partial shutdown of the Oben gas plant to address the repair of critical gas processing equipment.

“The incident, unfortunately, occurred at a time when other power plants on other gas sources are undergoing planned maintenance and capacity testing,” the statement signed by Special Adviser to the Minister of Power, Isa Sanusi, said.

Spokesperson for Eko Electricity Distribution Company, EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, told The PUNCH that the station currently got low allocation from the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

According to Idemudia, as of Saturday, load allocated to it was a mere 240MW out of expected 861MW.

“This affects all our injection substations. For example, Alangbon TS (covers IKoyi, Keffi, Obalende and environs) is expected to be 135 mw but we got 64.4 mega watts. On the overall, instead of getting 861mw, we are given 240.1 mw. We cannot give what we don’t have. The only way out is to load shed so it can go round all our customers,” he said.

The TCN had blamed the situation on a combination of issues ranging from gas constraints, fault, and technical problems within generating plants which caused persistent low generation and consequently low load allocation to distribution companies nationwide.

“This is based on the fact that TCN can only transmit what is being generated by Gencos and presently they are all generating below capacity,” the transmission company stated in a note.

Spokesperson for Electricity Consumers Association of Nigeria, Chijioke James, told The PUNCH that electricity consumers across the country were not happy with the low power supply.

Related Topics:blackouts Featured power plants

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Railway

Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC

Published

9 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Trends Admin

Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has disclosed that the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) trains are included in the Federal Government’s free train ride initiative for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The LRMT, which currently includes the Phase 1 Blue Line Rail and the Phase 1 of the Red Line Rail, operates under the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

This announcement was made by Ben Iloanusi, the Acting Managing Director of the NRC, during an interview on NTA News TV on Friday, following the launch of the initiative earlier that day.

While Iloanusi stated that Phase 1 of both the Blue Line and Red Line Rail projects are part of the program, LAMATA has yet to confirm this inclusion.

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Iloanusi outlined the other routes benefiting from the scheme, which include the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, Kaduna-Abuja Train Service, Warri-Itakpe Train Service, Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service, and the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit in Lagos. Notably, little was previously known about the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit service until this disclosure.

“Let me mention the routes where this free train service is happening. We have the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, we have the Kaduna-Abuja Train Service, we have the Warri-Itakpe Train Service, we have the Lagos Rail Mass Transit trains, we have the Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service, and we have what we call the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit, which is also in Lagos,” he stated.

Iloanusi provided operational updates, stating that passengers nationwide can access free tickets online or, for those unable to do so, at train stations where they will be profiled and validated.

He noted that passengers using NRC-managed services (excluding the Lagos Rail Mass Transit) should reserve tickets via the official website, www.nrc.gov.ng, with a valid ID required. He also advised travelers to plan, arrive on time, and bring valid identification.

Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC

Business

NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown

Published

9 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Trends Admin

Port Harcourt refinery

NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has denied claims in media reports that the newly refurbished Port Harcourt refinery has shut down.

The national oil company denied the claim in a press release issued by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, on Saturday.

Soneye said the claim was false and urged Nigerians to disregard it. He stressed that the Port-Harcourt Refinery is fully operational.

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The statement read, “The attention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has been drawn to reports in a section of the media alleging that the Old Port Harcourt Refinery which was re-streamed two months ago has been shut down.

“We wish to clarify that such reports are totally false as the refinery is fully operational as verified a few days ago by former Group Managing Directors of NNPC.”

He noted that preparation for the day’s loading operation is currently ongoing, and added that claims of the shutdown are “figments of the imagination of those who want to create artificial scarcity and rip-off Nigerians.”

NNPC denies claim of Port Harcourt refinery shutdown

Business

CBN permits BDCs to buy up to $25,000 FX weekly from NFEM

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2024

Trends Admin

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso

CBN permits BDCs to buy up to $25,000 FX weekly from NFEM

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted Bureau de Change (BDC) operators temporary permission to purchase up to $25,000 weekly in foreign exchange (FX) from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).

This move, detailed in a circular dated December 19, 2024, is designed to meet seasonal retail demand for FX during the holiday period.

The circular was signed by T.G. Allu, on behalf of the Acting Director of the Trade and Exchange Department.

The arrangement will be in effect from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025.

Under the directive, BDCs may purchase FX from a single Authorized Dealer of their choice, provided they fully fund their accounts before accessing the market.

Transactions to occur at the prevailing NFEM rate

The transactions will occur at the prevailing NFEM rate, and BDCs are required to adhere to a maximum 1% spread when pricing FX for retail end-users.

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All transactions conducted under this scheme must be reported to the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department.

The circular read in part:

“In order to meet expected seasonal demand for foreign exchange, the CBN is allowing a temporary access for all existing BDCs to the NFEM for the purchase of FX from Authorised Dealers, subject to a weekly cap of USD 25,000.00 (Twenty-five thousand dollars only).

This window will be open between December 19, 2024 to January 30, 2025.

“BDC operators can purchase FX under this arrangement from only one Authorized Dealer of their choice and will be required to fully fund their account before accessing the market at the prevailing NFEM rate. All transactions with BDCs should be reported to the Trade and Exchange department, and a maximum spread of 1% is allowed on the pricing offered by BDCs to retail end-users.”

The CBN assured the general public that PTA (Personal Travel Allowance) and BTA (Business Travel Allowance) remain available through banks for legitimate travel and business needs.”

These transactions are to be conducted at “market-determined exchange rates” within the NFEM framework.

This initiative reflects the CBN’s strategy to stabilize the FX market and manage seasonal surges in demand.