Report: Power sector Lost N2.17bn, 73MW on Election Day

By Chineme Okafor in Abuja

Nigeria’s power sector lost N2.17 billion and 73 megawatts of electricity last Saturday when the country held the presidential and National Assembly elections, a report by the Office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has disclosed

The report showed that power supply to Nigerians on Saturday when citizens of the country went to polls to elect the country’s next president and National Assembly members dropped slightly by 73MW.

The vice president’s office also disclosed that within the period, the sector lost a whopping sum of N2.17 billion to sundry constraints which stopped it from attaining full production capacity.

Obtained yesterday in Abuja, the data from the Advisory Power Team in Osinbajo’s office, explained that on Friday, the eve of the presidential and parliamentary elections, the country generated 4,286MW and lost N1.635 billion to operational constraints.

It said the generation figure for Friday was equally lower than that of the previous day – Thursday, by 83MW.

However on Saturday when the country went to the polls, it again dropped by 73MW and lost revenue worth N2.17 billion.

The data linked the developments mostly to issues related to gas; transmission; distribution and water management limitations.

For instance, it said: “On February 23, 2019 (Election Day), average energy sent out was 4,213 MWH/Hour, down by 73.44 MWH/Hour from the previous day. The report further showed that 2,408.21MW was not generated due to unavailability of gas.”

According to the report, “440MW was not generated due to unavailability of transmission infrastructure, while 1,521.60MW was not generated due to high frequency resulting from unavailability of distribution infrastructure.”

It further stated: “150MW was recorded as losses due to water management. The power sector lost an estimated N2,170,000,000 on February 23, 2019 due to insufficient gas supply, distribution infrastructure and transmission infrastructure. The dominant constraint on February 23, 2019 was due to unavailability of gas – constraining a total of 2,408.21MW from being available on the grid,” the report explained.

The operational records noted that on the same day, the sector achieved a peak generation of 4,712MW.

In comparison, it explained that: “On February 22, 2019 (eve of the election), average energy sent out was 4,286 MWH/Hour (down by 83 MWH/Hour from the previous day). 2,240.50MW was not generated due to unavailability of gas. 311.70MW was not generated due to unavailability of transmission infrastructure, while 703.70MW was not generated due to high frequency resulting from unavailability of distribution infrastructure.

“150MW was recorded as losses due to water management. The power sector lost an estimated N1,635,000,000 on February 22, 2019 due to insufficient gas supply, distribution infrastructure and transmission infrastructure. The dominant constraint on February 22, 2019 was due to unavailability of gas – constraining a total of 2,240.50MW from being available on the grid. Peak generation attained on February 22, 2019 – 5,036MW.”

According to the records, estimated amount the sector has lost so far in 2019 to insufficient gas supply; distribution; transmission and water reserves constraints was N76.076 billion.