Most parts of the country have been thrown into outer darkness due to power outages and shortages caused by a breakdown of nine National Integrated Power Plants, (NIPPs), which supply electricity to the national grid.
The Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, in a statement signed by his media aide, Aaron Artimas yesterday, said the development has drastically affected power generation, thus affecting supply to the national grid.
The affected plants are Sapele, Afam, Olorunsogo, Omotosho, Ibom, Egbin, Alaoji and Ihovbor while Jebba Plant is currently down for annual maintenance. Also, seven other integrated power plants namely Geregu, Sapele, Omotosho, Gbarain, Omoku, Paras and Alaoji are experiencing gas constraints, while the Shiroro Plant has water management problems.
“In view of this, the Minister of Power regrets this unfortunate situation and offers his sincere apology to all affected Nigerians on the inconveniences the power shortages are causing”, it read.
The minister further assured that the national grid will be restored to its previous historic distribution peak of about 5,600MWs of electricity achieved earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), in its Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR), for January 2021 said gas supply for power generation increased for the month.
