Transmission challenges, debt pile ups due to the yet to be checked tactics of electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) in evacuating far less than produced powers by generating Companies (Gencos) have been fingered as great disincentive to increase power generation.
The Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), the umbrella body for the Gencos, Dr Joy Ogaji, in a recent interview, averred that the limitations of the transmission and distribution networks as well as a lack of payments to Gencos were a drag on increased generation.
She noted that “Consistently, from January to December 2018, we had available generation capacity of 7,000MW and above, but the system was taking a maximum of 4,000MW. So, does that incentivise any investor to increase again? There is no incentive to increase generation or to expand capacity, because as we are increasing, they are not taking it.”
The growing frustrations of Gencos are coming at a time fresh controversies on nationwide 24 hours power supplies are trending between the Minister, Babatunde Fashola and Nigerians.
Otherwise, as households and businesses continue to lament the nation’s electricity woes, power generation companies in the country have said there is no incentive for them to increase output from their plants.
The Gencos said their total generation capacity rose to 7,383.04 megawatts in 2018 from 4,214.32MW in 2013, when the power sector was privatised by the Federal Government.
Total power generation, which plunged to 2,938.5MW last Wednesday, rose to 4,305.5MW as of 6am on Monday, according to data from the Nigeria Electricity System Operator, an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
The system operator put the installed generation capacity at 12,910.40MW; available capacity at 7,652.60MW; transmission wheeling capacity at 8,100MW; and the peak generation ever attained at 5,375MW.
