Discos Refutes FG’s Claim of 2000MW Unutilized Power Generation Capacity

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has refuted the continuous claim by the Federal Government (FG) of an unutilized 2000 megawatts (MW) of electricity capacity by the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) in Nigeria’s power market.

The Deputy Managing Director of Ibadan Disco, Mr John Ayodele, while speaking at a workshop by NERC in Abuja, on its eligible customers’ regulation, said such claims were according to daily records of power generated and transmitted to the Discos.

Ayodele explained that from the sector’s daily power broadcast, it was difficult to accept the existence of a 2000MW unutilized power generation capacity which the government claims exist because the Discos do not utilised all that is generated in the sector.

“I read the national broadcast and I am still asking myself: is there any stranded 2000 megawatts hiding behind the stories? And I can’t find, and this issue keeps coming up.

“When I look at all plants that are available, when you talk about installed capacity, it is different from capacity that can go on bar. I looked at the broadcast today on maximum generation available, capacity unbarred is 4666 megawatts, while we were generating about 4200 megawatts.

“Available generation that can be made available based on gas turbines that are down or undergoing repairs will never take us to having extra 2000 megawatts,” Ayodele said.

Ayodele, further asked the government to exempt hydro power generation companies (Gencos) from participating in the eligible consumers’ scheme, because according to him, they were not qualified by merit to be in it.

Again, he said that since hydro power Gencos were producing cheaply and their operators did not completely buy them off the government during the 2013 power privatization, there was no need for them to get involved with the eligible customers’ scheme.

“No hydro station should qualify. I believe that if we follow the rules as specified in the regulation, we should not have a problem. No Disco today can say it is against eligible customer because there is no reason why the Disco itself cannot be an eligible customer.”

Ayodele also said, “The merit order should be there, and hydros should be exempted from participating in this. What are they looking for? They are being dispatched 100 per cent, so what else do they want? Nothing because payment will follow, and payment guarantees has been given by the government and it is working. Let us use the rules the way they should apply.”

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola had earlier said the Federal Government is committed to invest N72 billion for the procurement and installation of equipment to help distribute unused 2000MW of electricity to consumers in the country.