BRIEF HISTORY
Electricity was first generated in Nigeria in 1866 when two
generating sets were installed to serve the Colony of Lagos. In
1951, the government of Nigeria, through an Act of Parliament,
established the Electricity Commission of Nigeria (ECN) to regulate
and operate the power supply systems in Nigeria. Subsequently, the
Niger Dam Authority (NDA) was established for the development of
the Kanji Hydroelectric Dam. In 1972, the ECN and the NDA were
merged to form the Nigerian Electric Power Authority (NEPA).
Until the enactment of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act
(EPSRA), the Nigerian power sector (with the exception of a few
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Published 31 December 2020
In a sequel to how abandoned hydropower stations have worsened the poor power supply in the country, TUNDE AJAJA probes further into the perennial problem and other areas in the value chain
Barely two months after
Sunday PUNCH’s report detailed how neglect and lack of genuine commitment by successive governments have hampered the development of the various hydropower stations across the country, there are strong indications that the Mambilla hydropower project, conceived since 1972, might have suffered another setback.
Our correspondent gathered that the all-important Mambilla project, which is to be Nigeria’s biggest single hydropower station, with the capacity to generate a whopping 3,050MW and boost power generation significantly for the benefit of the already distressed citizens, was not captured in the 2021 budget.
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’Femi Asu
Electricity customers who paid for meters under the Meter Asset Provider scheme will be refunded, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said.
NERC said this on Wednesday in an emailed response, through its Head of Public Affairs, Mr Michael Faloseyi, to questions from our correspondent.
Following the recent announcement by the Federal Government that six million meters would be distributed at no cost to consumers under the National Mass Metering Programme, some customers who had already paid for meters had asked if their money would be refunded.
Under the MAP scheme, which kicked off on May 1, 2019, customers have two options for acquiring a meter: upfront payment and payment in instalments through metering service charge on a monthly basis.
Successive governments have, therefore, continued to make massive investments and implement several policies to actualise this objective.
The year 2020 marked seven years since the privatisation of the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry, but many Nigerians believe its impact can be better.
Power generation still hovers around 5,000MW while transmission and distribution to end users is constantly being plagued by disruptions caused by obsolete equipment and vandalism of power infrastructure.
In spite of these challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the sector still recorded some significant achievements in 2020, which could serve as a launching pad to making electricity available for majority of Nigerians in the coming years.
ABUJA – Latest data from the Advisory Power Team, (APT) indicates that the country lost 1.548 megawatts per hour of the 4.482 megawatts average energy generated from November 26 to December 25, while the peak for the 30 days stood at 5.504mw, declining by 16 per cent compared to the previous month.
The latest report from the APT shows that Nigerian power sector has continued to suffer severe loss of revenue due to gas as well as transmission and distribution constraints in the electricity value chain, with the losses hitting N22.294 billion on Christmas day, a 30-day review has showed.
The largely negative figures for the last 30 days from the Advisory Power Team, which is resident in the office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, also showed that with declining generation and distribution, many Nigerian homes did not enjoy stable power supply during the ongoing festivities.