Nigerians celebrate sallah in darkness as power generation drops below 4,000MW

Many Nigerian families who had planned to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir holidays were forced to provide their own electricity as power generation fell below 4000 megawatts.

Distribution companies of Nigeria in a goodwill message had promised consumers that there will be adequate power supply throughout the period of the celebration and beyond.

However, according to data obtained from the Nigerian Electricity System Operator, power generation dropped to 3,711.30 MW as of 6am on Tuesday, from 4,270.7MW on Monday.

The power generation is also far below the national peak demand forecast of 28,850MW.

Complete Breakdown of power generation data for Tuesday showed, the peak generation stood at 4,984.00 MW, while the lowest generation was 3,711.30 MW

NESO data also showed that the total energy generated on Tuesday was 101,022.14 MWH, out of which 99,125.85 MWH was sent out.

Read also: Power generation rises by 8.46% in one week

Executive Director, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, had in 2018 said Nigeria must generate at least 180,000 megawatts of electricity to have adequate and stable power supply in the country.

“South Africa generates 48,000 megawatts with a population of 67 million people, and they are currently striving to expand generation to 79,000MW,” he said.

Ahead of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration Eko Electricity Distribution Company, in a goodwill message assured customers of adequate power supply throughout the period of the celebration and beyond.

The power firm gave the assurance that its technical team would be on hand to clear faults and resolve customer complaints all through the period of the holiday.

Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company also expressed its commitment to uninterrupted services during the holidays.

The Chief Operating Officer of the company, John Ayodele, highlighted the need for strict observance of safety precautions such as proper supervision of children to prevent electrical accidents, not cooking or trading under high-tension wires and not engaging quacks to fix faults.

“IBEDC is committed to ensuring that its customers enjoy uninterrupted service during the holiday as much as it is within our control,” he said.

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