One out of three mega hydropower plants, Shiroro Power Station, has been forced to shut down due to gas constraints and poor flooding control.
Shiroro, which generated a high of 428 megawatts on January 3, 2018, was said to be “out due to turbine pit flood problem.”
The nation generates most of its electricity from gas-fired power plants, while output from hydropower plants makes up about 30 per cent of the total generation.
Total electricity generation stood at 4,455.5MW as of 6am on February 28, while 2,139.6MW was unutilised generation capacity, the latest data from the ministry showed
Latest statistics from the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing revealed that the plant had been idle since February 20 to join others which had been idle as of the end of February.
Currently, the eight idle power plants across the nation include generation plants at Sapele I, AES, ASCO, Azura-Edo and three plants built under the National Integrated Power Project scheme – Alaoji, Ihovbor and AES.