Blackout As Power Generation Drops

Nigeria’s electricity grid suffered another major setback on Friday as generation dropped from 3,366.88 Megawatts as of 1 pm to 1,517.5MW by 2 pm and 1,417.85MW as of 3 pm.

Checks on data posted by the National Independent System Operator, NISO, showed that the number of power plants on the grid dropped from 22 as of 1 pm to 13 as of 3 pm.

The latest shortage in power supply made it the second time this year when supply from the grid had suffered a significant drop.

Just two days ago, the Federal Government had celebrated peak generation of over 5,800MW, which most experts described as deceptive as it was not sustained beyond a few minutes.

The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, had disclosed the tariff regularization will push available generation capacity to about 7,000MW.

Chief Adelabu in a statement by his Special Adviser on Strategic Communication, Bolaji Tunji, explained that the regularization of tariffs will play a critical role in unlocking the sector’s full potential and driving further improvements in power generation and distribution.

He said: “To sustain these improvements, the Government would have to pay down on the tariff shortfalls of N1.94 trillion for 2024 and legacy debts of N2 trillion to the GENCOs. It would be important to continue the tariff reforms to ensure consumers start to pay for the energy consumed.

“By the time the tariffs are fully regularized, we will be moving closer to 7,000 MW of available generation capacity. This will mark another significant milestone in our journey towards a stable, reliable, and efficient power sector that meets the needs of all Nigerians”.

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