- The grid capacity increase resulted from the addition of a $1.3bn Niger state-based 700MW Zungeru hydroelectric plant.
- The Nigerian Electricity System Operator records showed that the latest grid generation installed capacity as of Saturday was 13,014.14MW.
The Federal Government, through the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), has increased the national grid capacity from 13,000 megawatts (MW) recorded a few years ago to about 14,000 MW. APGC’s Executive Secretary, Dr Joy Ogaji, while speaking with The Punch on the sideline of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria’s 2023 annual international strategic conference last Thursday, said electricity generation capacity to the national grid has increased to almost 14,000MW.
Dr Ogaji explained that the increase resulted from the addition of a $1.3bn Niger state-based 700MW Zungeru hydroelectric plant, which came on stream in the second quarter of the year. She said, “The national grid now has an installed power generation capacity of about 14,000 megawatts, and this was made possible due to the Zungeru plant that came on stream this year. This is an opportunity for interested investors to partner with the Gencos.”
The Federal Government had, in February, announced Mainstream Energy Solution Limited as the preferred bidder for the concession of the plant. The company had offered a fee of $700 million per year for 30 years to operate the plant. Despite the 14,000MW claim by Ojagi, checks by TEH on the records of the Nigerian Electricity System Operator showed that the latest grid generation installed capacity as of Saturday was 13,014.14MW and on-grid peak power generation was 4,803.60MW. Experts have said Nigeria needs at least 30,000MW to reach sufficiency.