Despite Power Sector Crisis, Electricity Companies Under-Utilized 49,861MW In 13 Days

A report released by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has revealed that Ikeja, Abuja, Eko, Ibadan as well as other Distribution Companies (DisCos) underutilized the 49,861 megawatts of electricity that were supplied to them in 13 days.

The analysis is based on the request, allocation, and consumption of electricity between October 1 and 13, 2023, according to the TCN.

The TCN in a report titled ‘Daily DisCos load summary from 1st -13th October 2023’ revealed the electricity demands of Abuja, Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port-Harcourt, and Yola Discos.

The report showed that in the period under review, a total of 52,894.44 megawatts of electricity were requested, 49,861.38 megawatts were distributed and 46,284.77 megawatts were consumed.

A megawatt is a measure of the power station’s output equal to one million watts or 1,000 kilowatts.

One megawatt of a power station is roughly enough electricity for the immediate demand of 750 Nigerian homes.

A breakdown of the data showed that from the 52,894.44 MW DisCos’ demanded, Ikeja requested 8,020.61MW; Abuja 7,644 MW; Ibadan requested 6,937.71 MW; Eko 6,498.18 MW; Benin demanded 4,719MW while Kano requested for 3,977.49MW.

The DisCos with the lowest demands were Kaduna with 3,842.41MW; Enugu 3,752.19MW; Port-Harcourt demanded 3,519.34MW; Jos needed 2,343.51MW and Yola was 1,638MW.

However, the data revealed that out of the 52,894.44MW demanded by the DisCos, a total of 49,861.38MW representing 94.27 per cent was allocated.

This represents a shortage of 5.73 per cent or 3031.06MW in energy supplied to the DisCos.

A breakdown of the allocation further showed that Ikeja received 7,775. 97MW; Abuja got 7,644MW; Eko was allocated 6,615.67MW; Ibadan stood at 5,877.93MW while Enugu was given 4,563.58MW.

Furthermore, THE WHISTLER discovered that Port-Harcourt got 3,486.99 MW; Benin received 3,393MW; Kano recorded 3,235.56MW in power supply while, Kaduna, Jos and Yola were given 3,103.99 MW; 2,767.03 MW; and 1,396.67 MW respectively.

According to the report, out of the 49,861.38 MW power supplied, only 92.83 per cent or 46,284.77 MW was consumed. This implies that 7.17 per cent or 3576.61 MW of electricity was not utilized by the DISCOs.

The report showed that out of the electricity supplied to the DisCos, Ikeja distributed 6,891.59 MW, Abuja 6,189.52 MW, Eko 5,980.88 MW, Ibadan 5,928.23 MW, and Benin 3,882.25.

Also, Enugu Distribution Company utilized 3,782.63 MW of power, Port-Harcourt consumed 3,213.62 MW, while Kaduna consumed 3,086.37 MW.

The DisCos with the lowest consumption of electricity were Kano, 3,056.43 MW, Jos at 2,484.71 MW, and Yola at 1,788.54 MW.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had last week warned electricity generating and distribution companies over the poor distribution of electricity to Nigerians.

This warning came barely a month after the national grid collapsed twice in 24 hours.

According to Adelabu, “We called this meeting to learn from you and the only way to salvage a bad situation is to understand the real issues on the ground.

“Power is one of the most important things we need to energize the economy in terms of achieving the desired economic growth and Industrial development.

”The President has identified the power sector as a major driver of economic growth, therefore no excuse will be entertained for non-performance.”