Nigerians To Remain In Darkness As Power Falls to 2,628.6 Megawatts
The promise made by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan that the Country would begin to witness steady power supply may be a ruse after all as the power generated by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, had dropped drastically.
The total amount of electricity generated in Nigeria as at 6am on Saturday was 2,628.6 megawatts. This indicates a sharp drop from the little above 4,000MW, which the Federal Government had recently announced as the country’s generated power.
The drop in generated electricity, according to the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, is as a result of severe leaks in the supply of gas to some strategic power plants across the country. Nebo, according to a statement on Saturday, which was signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Ms. Kande Daniel, described the development as worrisome. The minister, in the statement said, “Total grid generation as at 6am on Saturday is 2,628.6MW,” adding, “With this low level generation, management of the grid is currently a big task, necessitating a nationwide load shedding.” While explaining the current grid generation situation, Nebo attributed the drop to the low gas supply to the generation plants especially in eastern Nigeria. He said three power stations in the region: Afam IV, Afam VI, and Rivers Independent Power Plant, were shut down again on Friday night, as a result of gas constraints arising from condensate issue on the Trans National Pipeline.
