Buhari welcomes IAEA intervention in addressing power problems

JUST as power generation fell by 759.1 megawatts in just 24 hours on the back of losses recorded by Egbin, Afam, Victorial Island and other generation plants, President Muhammadu Buhari has appreciated the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency in her quest to generate 4,000MW of electricity using nuclear energy.
Electricity generation had last week Tuesday risen to 4,368.5MW from 3,548.7MW on Monday, only to drop again to 3,629.4MW on Wednesday.

Generation from Egbin, which is located in Lagos, was limited to 912MW last week, down from 1,085MW the previous day, due to gas constraints. Shell’s Afam VI power plant in Rivers State, which generated 524MW on Tuesday, saw the level falling to zero on Wednesday. Its four units were said to be out due to defective gas compressors.

Other plants whose generation fell included Omotosho, Olorunsogo, Geregu NIPP, Odukpani NIPP and the Ibom power plant.

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Power generation in the country fell to a record low of 1,580.6MW last week, a development that threw many parts of the country into blackout for days on end.
The assistance from the IAEA will commence with 1,000MW of electricity in the first instance and increased later to 4,000 megawatts.

Speaking while receiving Mr. Yukiya Amano, the Director-General of the IAEA at the presidential villa yesterday, President Buhari said he was happy that the organization was developing a program from which Nigeria would benefit.

Addressing the President, Mr. Amano said he was pleased to see that Nigeria was taking the correct steps toward a safe usage of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
President Buhari charged the IAEA to do more to support Nigeria, in view of the long years of its association and support for the nuclear regulatory agency.