A datasheet detailing the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s September operating performance has been made public.

According to PUNCH Online, the national grid failed on Saturday for the third time in as many days.

The grid breakdown on Saturday, according to the NERC, was caused by an explosion in a current transformer.

The national grid failed around 105 times throughout the administrations of President Bola Tinubu and his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, despite significant investments made in the electricity industry, according to a Monday article by The DAILYPULSE.

NERC released a factsheet on its September operating performance via its X on Monday.

“Operating performance data of grid-connected power plants for September 2024 is contained in this factsheet,” it stated. Visit our website for reports, NERC Orders, and Regulations, as well as further information.

The historic grid breakdown instances serve as a reminder of the difficulties Nigeria faces in achieving stable electricity supplies.

But a deeper examination of recent statistics for September 2024 from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission shows that things are not entirely dire.

Power generation has clearly improved, however there are still many areas that require urgent attention.

The factsheet offers a comprehensive operational performance evaluation, including important details about the status of energy production, grid efficiency, and power plant dependability nationwide.

28 plants, varying results
The study states that 28 grid-connected plants provide 41% of Nigeria’s electricity, which is a 5% increase over the previous month. This represents the plants’ availability factor.

At 5,533 MW, the average available capacity represents a 14% increase.

This is a positive indication of progress, demonstrating that the nation’s plants are progressively increasing their energy output and working to close the gap between supply and demand.

Nevertheless, in September, Nigeria’s power plants produced 4,492 MWh/h on average, an 8% rise over the previous month.

Although significant, this rise is still insufficient to meet the population’s energy needs.

To put things in perspective, there is a wide range in the plant availability factor, which is a crucial measure of how frequently these facilities are in operation.

Egbin ST, the grid’s biggest contributor, reported an availability factor of 45%, whilst Azura IPP, the most efficient provider, achieved an astounding 98% capacity availability.

Superstars against underachievers
Azura IPP, Odukpani, and Afam VI are highlighted in the study as top performers, with availability factors of 98, 98, and 74%, respectively.

These plants continuously produced large amounts of electricity; Odukpani contributed 348 MWh/h while Azura IPP produced 387 MWh/h.

Conversely, power plants like as Sapele ST, Geregu NIPP, and Olorunsogo NIPP experienced severe difficulties.

With an availability factor of barely 17%, Sapele ST, for instance, raised concerns about both its operational effectiveness and the reasons behind its constantly low production.

The Alaoji NIPP scenario, which reported a 0% availability factor, is among the concerning disclosures. The facility added nothing to the system and produced no electricity.

Regrettably, this is indicative of more widespread inefficiencies in the power industry, where substantial expenditures in facilities do not necessarily result in continuous energy generation.

Nigeria’s reliance on fossil fuel-based plants is obvious, and given their performance unpredictability, it is obvious that a more sustainable approach would involve diversifying the energy mix.

Grid functionality
The paper claims that Nigeria’s grid functioning yields a varied range of outcomes.

The actual frequency of 50.80 Hz, which is barely 1% over the target of 50.25 Hz, indicates that the grid frequency, a critical statistic that maintains a balance between the supply and demand of power, was very consistent.

Maintaining a consistent supply of energy to customers and averting grid outages depend heavily on this degree of uniformity. Grid voltage did, however, fluctuate significantly.

The voltage varied by 1% over the upper goal and 3% below the lower threshold of 313.50 kV, with a recorded value of 349.87 kV.

One of the main causes of Nigeria’s frequent outages is voltage instability, which can harm electrical equipment used in homes and businesses alike.

Additional plants linked to the grid
A handful of grid-connected facilities performed poorly, aside from the top energy producers.

For instance, Afam IV–V, which had 726 MW of installed capacity, only produced an average of 63 MW while running at a pitiful 9% plant availability factor.

This is not what one would anticipate from a massive project like this.

Furthermore, the Ibom Power and Omoku plants maximised their available capacity, as seen by their attainment of 62% and 100% load factors, respectively, while having availability factors of just 28% and 37%, respectively.

This indicates once more that although capacity is available, it is typically underutilised as a result of inefficient operations.

Factor of load and grid stability
It’s interesting to note that the factsheet includes the load factor, which provides information on how well the available capacity is being used.