- Sanusi Garba, NERC Chairman, promises to resolve electricity problems
- The chairman says gas constraints and low water levels resulted in the loss of almost 1,000MW.
Sanusi Garba, Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, has promised Nigerians that coordinated efforts to resolve difficulties in the electric power supply chain will restore supply to over 4,000MW shortly. Garba rejected some of the false ideas prevalent in the media as the cause of network instability during a press conference on the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) situation.
He ascribed the value chain’s issues to three significant events:
- Scheduled repair of the Shell Afam gas pipeline to Okpai Power Plant
- Vandalism on the gas pipeline to Okpai Power Plant
- Pigging of the pipeline providing gas to Calabar Power Plant
According to the Chairman, the cumulative effect of these three accidents occurring when hydro stations are running below optimal levels due to low water levels resulted in a loss in supply to the national grid of almost 1,000MW. Garba said that attempts to recover lost capacities and the potential of signing a contract with Okpai 2 Power Plant – a recently completed power plant with direct gas supply – will soon restore the grid capacity to over 4,000MW.