Gas Shortage Threatens Nigeria’s Power Sector

As insufficient gas supply weakens power generation from various thermal stations across the country, lack of maintenance has caused the shut down of some hydro-powered plants, throwing power supply into a more dire situation.power_plant1_156078572_111
Available information shows that at least  seven power plants in the country are currently not generating power due to gas shortage as well as technical  faults resulting in the shutdown of some of the plants  to facilitate maintenance and rehabilitation works.
Two hydro-stations and three National Integrated Power Projects as well as two Independent Power Project stations have been shut  down with zero contribution to the national grid.
The National Control Centre, Osogbo, Osun State, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria during the week indicated that the Kainji and Shiroro Hydro-power plants were currently down.
Though the Kainji plant has an installed capacity of 760 megawatts (mw) and an available capacity of 100mw, it is currently shut as a result of multiple faults affecting eight of its units.
According to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), varying degrees of rehabilitation and faults are responsible for the shutdown of Kanji’s 1G5, 1G7, 1G8, 1G9 and 1G10 units.
“The 1G6 unit was already out for rehabilitation since December 6, 2013, and is expected back on December 31, 2014. The 1G11 unit of the plant was shut down on emergency due to abnormal noise in the unit, while the 1G12 unit is out for rehabilitation,” the NCC said.
Similarly, the 600MW Shiroro hydro plant is out due to ongoing repairs and overhaul that is expected to end

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