In the second quarter of 2024, a report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission highlighted that four power plants under the National Integrated Power Project failed to generate electricity. These plants are Omotosho NIPP, Ihovbor NIPP, Alaoji NIPP, and Sapele GT NIPP. Due to gas shortages, each of these plants with an installed capacity of 500 megawatts recorded zero power generation from April to June. This resulted in a total capacity of 2,000MW being unavailable for three months.
The report also revealed that the average plant availability factor for all grid-connected plants was 32.30% in 2024/Q2, indicating that over 67% of the installed capacity in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry was not accessible. Only four plants achieved availability factors above 50%, with the Azura IPP plant leading at 98.05%. On the contrary, Omotosho NIPP, Ihovbor NIPP, Alaoji NIPP, and Sapele GT NIPP all had zero availability factor in the same period.
The report mentioned that the management of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company is collaborating with stakeholders to address the gas supply issues affecting these power plants. Furthermore, hydropower plants experienced decreases in Plant Availability Factor due to seasonal variations in river flows. The Zungeru hydropower plant became operational during the quarter, increasing the number of grid-connected plants to 28.
In comparison to the previous quarter, the average available generation capacity of grid-connected power plants decreased in 2024/Q2, mainly influenced by fluctuations in the available capacity of different plants. Thermal plants constituted 73.02% of the generation mix, while hydro plants contributed 26.98%.
The Minister of Power expressed optimism about the increase in power generation, aiming to reach 6,000MW by the year’s end.