NNPC supplies 836mmscfd of gas to power stations in January
Lagos -- The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, supplied 836 million standard cubic feet per day, mmscfd, of gas to power stations in the country in the month of January.
Statistics from the January 2021 edition of the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report,
MFOR, showed that the daily average natural gas supply to gas power plants increased by 2.38% and that the 836mmscfd sent to the poer plants was used to generate an equivalent of 3,415 megawatts, MW, of power during the month under review.
Nigeria boasts of over 20 gas-fired power plants to generate maximum of 7,000MW per day, according to former power minister, Babatnde Fashola. However, the plants suffer gas constraints among other challenges which results in low power generation. Experts say the country requires at least 30,000MW to attain energy sufficiency. $29bn annually because of unreliable electricity. Nigerian utilities get paid for only a half of electricity they receive.
“For every N10 worth of electricity received by Discos (distribution companies), about N2.60 is lost in poor distribution infrastructure and through power theft and another N3.40 is not being paid for by customers," the bank said.
The document further stated that only 51 per cent of installed capacity was available for generation, as an average Nigerian consumed four times less energy than his/her counterpart in a typical lower middleincome country.