Power generation peaks at 5,155mw, says Fashola

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, has said that the nation has begun witnessing improved power supply in the past few months.

He said due to the painstaking effort of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, power generation has
peaked at 5, 155 megawatts (MW) as at Friday, December 8, 2017.

According to the former Lagos state governor, “It is a major milestone in our journey of incremental power; and if we keep our feet on the ground and we remain focused and unexcited, we will improve on it, and hopefully, get to the second leg of our journey which is steady power.”

Fashola, who spoke at the 22nd monthly power sector operators’ meeting, held in Lokoja, Kogi State, North Central Nigeria, on Monday, said, “Please recall that in January 2017, up till March 2017, power production was significantly low, largely as a result of the lack of gas and the disruptions in the Niger Delta

“By collective action of Government and all of you, many of these challenges have either been fully overcome or brought under control and management.

“Government has responded with policies and actions like the N701 Billion payment assurance guarantee which has brought confidence to the production side of the power business and resulted in increased power production taking us to an all-time high of over 7,000 MW of power availability.

“Government action in transmission service expansion through TCN, and your feedback about service points where you require service from TCN, has helped to increase Transmission capacity which took us to over 4,000MW grid available power, that was relatively steady.

“In the course of the year, slowly but steadily, the incidents of total and partial grid collapses have begun to reduce.”

He said that “The fact that we can produce over 7,000 MW and can now only put over 5,000 MW on the grid means that we have 2,000 MW of unused power left in a country where many still require power.

This is a new problem that we must resolve.

We must get that 2,000 MW out to the people who need it, because more power is coming in 2018 from places like Azura (450 MW); Katsina wind (10 MW); Gbarain (115 MW); Kashimbilla (40 MW); Afam III (240 MW); Gurara (30 MW); Dadin Kowa (29 MW); and Kaduna (215 MW) to mention a few.

“All of these do not include mini-grids and solar systems that are in various stages of development.”

He said he was collaborating with big consumers, including Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) chambers of commerce and industry, and appealed for understanding and cooperation from consumers.
“We want to supply power, but everybody must help us by letting us know where they are, especially the big consumers,” he said.

Ganiyu Obaaro