By Abiola Olawale
Nigerians are currently grappling with widespread blackouts following a drastic decline in electricity generation, which plummeted to a mere 1,417 megawatts (MW) on Friday, according to data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Also, checks on data posted by the National Independent System Operator, NISO, showed that the number of power plants on the grid dropped from 22 as of 1pm to 13 as of 3pm.
This sharp drop has left millions of households and businesses without power, exacerbating an already strained energy crisis in Africa’s most populous nation.
Major cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Kano reported extended outages, with some areas experiencing over 18 hours without electricity.
This comes after the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed that tariff regularization will push available generation capacity to about 7,000MW.
Chief Adelabu in a statement by his Special Adviser on Strategic Communication, Bolaji Tunji, explained that the regularization of tariffs will play a critical role in unlocking the sector’s full potential and driving further improvements in power generation and distribution.
He said: “To sustain these improvements the Government would have to pay down on the tariff shortfalls of N1.94 trillion for 2024 and legacy debts of N2 trillion to the GENCOs. It would be important to continue the tariff reforms to ensure consumers start to pay for the energy consumed.
“By the time the tariffs are fully regularized, we will be moving closer to 7,000 MW of available generation capacity. This will mark another significant milestone in our journey towards a stable, reliable, and efficient power sector that meets the needs of all Nigerians”.
