DISCOs say Fashola lied about power generated

The 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria on Tuesday said the claims by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on the status of the nation’s power generation capacity was false.

Last week, Fashola, while addressing newsmen at a briefing in Abuja, had said Nigeria’s power generation capacity was about 7,000 megawatts (MW), adding that the problem facing the nation’s electricity sector has changed from unavailability of power for distribution to an excess capacity of about 2,000MW of power left unused.

But the DisCos, in a 28-page document released in Abuja on Tuesday, said that the basis for the increase in power generation capacity from 4,000MW in 2015 to 7,000MW in 2018 and not taking from the excess capacity of 2,000MW as released by the minister was not clear.

“We do not understand the constant references to the increase of generation capacity to 7,000MW from 4,000MW for the period of 2015 to 2018 that has been used as the basis of defining the Discos as incapable of taking on more power – the stranded 2,000MW.

“A review of NERC’s ‘Daily Energy Watch’ for January 28, 2015 would indicate a generation availability of 6,421MW (divided into peak of 4,230MW and constrained energy of 2,191MW).

“In other words, it is misleading to state that available generation has grown from 4,000MW in 2015, as a measure of progress, given that a volume of generation slightly under 7,000MW already or previously existed, prior to the beginning of this administration,” they said.

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The firms added that there was no 2,000MW excess power capacity left unused, they said, “While there is an available capacity of 7,000MW, the best that can be generated, at this time, is 5,000MW. This is because there is insufficient gas to power the thermal plants due to gas line limitations (for instance, the non-completion of the Oben pipeline) and the absence of a commercial framework that would encourage gas exploration. Generation that is constrained by gas amounts to an average 1,500MW daily.”

They also faulted claims that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) currently had capacity to wheel over 5,000MW, stressing that in spite of the TCN’s tested wheeling capacity of 5,500MW, with the two historical generation peaks of 5,074MW recorded on February 2, 2016, and 5,222MW on December 18, 2017, only 4,577MW and 4,265MW were wheeled or transmitted, respectively.

“In simple terms, the TCN has not wheeled energy in excess of 4,265MW ever,” the firms added.

 

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