With deteriorating generating capacity and high inefficiencies, the nation’s electricity system (generation, transmission, and distribution) is under stress, requiring urgent measures to ensure that the electricity demand is commensurate with growth, DANIEL ESSIET reports.
As the economy grows, so is the demand for electricity, which has surpassed the capacity of the current electricity generation levels.
Across the country, power shortages have become the norm with some areas barely receiving 12 hours of electricity supply. In the wake of massive blackouts, half of the country’s population have been left without power. This is attributed to technical challenges that prevent sufficient volumes of electricity from being delivered to end-users. The challenges span across the entire power system value chain: from insufficient capacity to large losses in the transmission and distribution networks.
NIPP
Speaking during the commissioning and handling over of some National Independent Power Projects (NIPP) at Ijede, Agbowa, Imota and Ipakado subjection stations in Lagos, the Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), owners of Nigerian Independent Power Projects( NIPP), James Olotu said aging power plants, lack of adequate maintenance, and sub-optimal use of fuels in the power plants have reduced the share of the nation’s generating capacity that can actually be delivered to the grid. This reduction combined with the less than optimal operation of power plants have together led to reduction in the capacity of thermal power plants. The challenge with older power plants, according to watchers, is that soon, the aging turbines and components lose efficiency. This leads to a reduction in capacity output.
Olotu said transmission and distribution of electricity through transmission lines and substations is normally accompanied with “technical losses” in the metallic lines that connect power plants to end-users. There are however, higher losses attributed to lack of rehabilitation of power lines as well as to the inadequacy in the number of substations, which are used to step up and step down voltages across the system.
He said the distribution system is suffering from high overloads, thefts, and lack of asset and demand side management. Congested transmission paths, or “bottlenecks,” now affect many parts of the grid across the country.
The Challenges
He said monitoring is used to identify the weak points in the system, regulate power outages, and anticipate electric failures. This he explained, helps to decrease the number of technical losses and facilitates the detection of non-technical losses, consequently increasing the share of electricity produced that is actually delivered to customers. He explained that congested transmission paths affect many parts of the grid across the country.
To address this challenge, Olotu said the project is providing 966 low voltage, completely self protected (CSP) transformers, which will be connected to the four sub injection stations to provide reliable and safe electricity to consumers. In most of the areas of the country, NIPP is deploying CSP transformers. He said a CSP transformer can protect itself from faults. The CSP technology enables the transformer to protected it from over loading and lightning.
He said the project is prepared to provide adequate transmission infrastructure to supply reserve margins and operating capacity that are an important part of the national reliability plan.
Olotu said the project is providing service wires and poles to help the Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN) expand the distribution to meet population and demand growth.
The NIPP is gradually increasing the total power distribution capacity in Lagos towards lightening up the entire state as well as the adjoining state of Ogun.
With these developments, he observed that power will be more stable in the covered areas in the states, there would be reduction in low current, load shedding, and improvement in the quality of power base and distribution along with its multiplier effects on other strata of life and the economy.
The NDPHC boss also pointed out that the issue of gas supply had become very challenging though it was being addressed from the highest quarter.
Olotu insisted that these were parts of the challenges and NDPHC was dealing with now in order to deliver to the nation the required quantity of power in the nearest future. Noting that Nigeria was a growing nation with the current population of 160 million people and a growing economy, he said power generation, transmission and distribution are projects that will continue to receive attention and will be improved upon.
To improve power supply in the country, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) said it will continue to commission new projects every month across the country until the end of this year. He assured Nigerians that Omotosho Power Plant Phase ll is ready to contribute additional 500 megawatts to the national grid by December. Olotu said Unit 3 out of the four units in Omotosho is ready contributing about 375 megawatts into the national grid while the last unit would come on stream by December to make 500 megawatts.
He said on-going successes recorded in the NIPP power project was in line with the transformation and power sector reform agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan administration.“I have been assured by the contractor handling the projects that the 500 mega watts will be available by December to the national grid. At present, three units, which are 1, 2, and 3 are generating about 375 mega watts are on the grid, while the last unit 4 would come on stream by December,’’ he said.
The NDPHC, however, expressed satisfaction on the total level of commitment of the contractors handling the ongoing-NIPP projects in Omotosho.
He said that with the level of work in all NIPP projects, the country is expected to get about 1, 500 megawatts from NIPP to contribute to the national grid by December, which is subject to available of gas.
Olotu said that some units are not working due to non-availability of gas, adding that they have been assured availability of gas by NGC.
The NIPP boss said that about 300 million standard cubic feet of gas has been promised by NGC to be available to the power plants by December, which he said will go a long way to boost Omotosho power plants generation.
It will also be recalled that last the week about 1,214 self protected transformers had been handed over to the management of both Eko and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company by the NDPHC for effective power supply in Lagos.
A breakdown of the commissioned transformers revealed that Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company got the lion share of 966 while EkoElectricity Distribution Company received 248.
Olotu, who participated at the event held in Lagos said that about22,500 of such micro transformers will be commissioned before theend of this year across the country to boost power delivery and reducetechnical power loss.
The NDPHC boss, who declined to name the cost of the project, said it is a nine in one contract spread throughout the nation .He added that three of such projects have been completed in the country. He said that the transfer, which was designed to eliminate technical loss of power during transmission and distribution to end users waspart of government gesture of adding value to the privatisation of thepower sector.
The Chief Executive officer of Eko Distribution Company of NigeriaEngineer Oladele Amuda, who spoke while participating at the ceremony in Mushin suburb of Lagos where 248 transformers was located,commended President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice-President Nmadi Sambo, the Management of Niger Delta Holding Company and the contractors for the completion of the Project that will reduce technical loss as well boost power delivery to end users in the area.
The Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Distribution Company, Chris Akamnonu, who spoke at the ceremony at Ikorodu suburb ofLagos where 966 transformers was installed, also commended Federalgovernment for taking the bold initiative of reducing technical lossand boosting of power delivery to the end users in the area.
The Management of NDPHC handed over two drums ofservice wires for power distribution to Management of Ikeja Distribution firm for distribution of power to end users.
Conclusion
For followers of events in the energy sector, the crisis in the region adds urgency to the timeframe for transitioning to a more sustainable energy future. Also, because energy infrastructure tend to have a life-span of at least a half a century, the government need to develop alternative energy sources — along with production and distribution systems — at a scale that serves millions of people every day, in perpetuity.
The nation is woefully under-spending on research to support renewable energy and a sustainable energy future. Since the roadmap is needed to address the daunting energy challenges of the 21st century, programmes should be designed to solve basic energy research problem, support transformational energy technologies and businesses, and develop cross-cutting centres of energy excellence focused on moving technologies from the concept to commercialisation phase. As the year draws to an end, expectations are high from electricity consumers.
Recently, Vice-President, Namadi Sambo ordered the speedy evacuation of power generated from the various power stations to ensure constant electricity supply across the country. He commended the current 4,200mw of electricity being generated by power plants in the country.
