New Telegraph

Ogaji: Only 25 of 160 licensed GenCos operating

The Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), Dr Joy Ogaji, yesterday said that only 25 out of the 160 Gen- Cos licensed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) are currently operating in the country. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ogaji made the disclosure during a panel session at the on-going Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference and Exhibition in Abuja. She noted that data from the National Control Centre, Osogbo, showed that Nigeria’s energy demand was about 28,000mw while the current available power was about 6,000mw. She said: “NERC has issued 160 licences to power generation companies.

Only 25 are operational currently Theotherthermalstations arewaitingontheside-linesand if they are actively involved, we can generate an additional 30,000mw. The 25 operational GenCoshavean installedcapacity of about 13,000mw.” She, however, disclosed that current available capacity had droppedfromabout9,000mwin 2020 to about 6,000mw. According to her, this was not being optimally utilised due to load rejection by electricity distribution companies for various reasons. Ogaji noted that the three hydro power plants – Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro – with an installed capacity of 1,500mw were also not being optimally utilised.

She said the take-off of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) had made it imperative for Nigeria to fix its power sector to make its companies able to compete with their counterparts across the continent. Ogaji described gas supply constraints as one of the major challenges facing GenCos and was responsible for the drop in power generation. She said this could be remedied by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation agreeing to supply 60 per cent of the gas needed by the GenCos. Ogaji said the move would enable the sector to achieve its vision of generating 30,000mw by 2030, with 3,000mw coming from renewables and 27,000mw from the power plants.

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