By Ediri Ejoh

THERE were fears over possible blackout as electricity generation dropped, yesterday, to 3,314 megawatts, MW, from 4,595.7MW, recorded last Monday, indicating a drop of 27.88 per cent.

The drop culminated in increased load shedding as Electricity Distribution Companies, DisCos managed to allocate about 3,000MW of electricity to consumers nationwide.

According to the data provided by the National System Operator, NSO, an independent arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, Nigeria’s power generation has consistently stagnated at a little over 4,000MW for a greater part of 2023.

Commenting on the various interventions, including Presidential Power Initiative, PPI, targeted at delivering more supply to consumers, the Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise [CPPE], Dr. Muda Yusuf, observed that some of them have not yet yielded the expected fruits.

He said: “Evidently, the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative has not been executed with the desired sense of urgency.  Deficit in power supply remains one of the major constraints to investment, economic growth and job creation.  It is also impacting negatively on the welfare of the people because of lack of access to electricity.

“It is curious that major equipment that should be deployed to mitigate this problem has been stuck at the ports for over six months.  Nigerians deserve an  explanation for this seeming negligence.”

However, the Federal Government has insisted that progress has been made to expand transmission and distribution networks over the years.

The Minister of Power, Engr Abubakar Aliyu said with the new 700 Megawatts capacity Zungeru Hydro Power plant which was constructed at the cost of $1.2 billion been connected to the National Grid System, supply will improve remarkably in the coming weeks.

He noted that progress has been made across the sector, adding: “today the Zungeru Hydro Electric Power Plant has become a reality. We have today joined the grid with 700MW. The testing has started and the information reaching us is that the 700MW has gone on the grid.

“The Kashimbilla Electric project which is a joint project with the Ministry of Water Resources has also been completed. The line bring electricity to Yendev in Benue State, over 240km is also completed and commissioned”.