Blackout continues as DisCos fail to utilize 2,495.3MW

Power distribution Companies (DisCos) rejected a total of 2,495.3 megawatts of electricity in one week amid the outcry of blackouts in various locations across the country by consumers.

The latest industry figures on the Discos load summary obtained from the Transmission Company of Nigeria showed that the power distributors did not utilize a huge amount of electricity in the first week of April.

An analysis of the report indicated that most power firms failed to utilise the electricity allocated to them by TCN under the Multi-Year Tariff Order allocation from April 2 to April 8, 2022.

One megawatt is equal to one million watts. If one home needs 1 kWh of energy for one hour, then 2,495.3MW of energy can sustain over 20 million homes, over 22.2% of the 90 million persons without electricity in the country.

Nigeria’s 11 Discos include Abuja, Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt and Yola, and there have been a series of complaints about the poor delivery of electricity by these firms.

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It was observed that on April 2, for instance, a total of 373.97MW of power was unutilised by five power distribution companies, as Eko did not utilise 118.29MW; Ibadan, 169.77MW; Ikeja, 63.19MW; Kano, 13.18MW; and Port Harcourt, 9.54MW.

On April 3, six power distributors failed to utilize 189.84MW. They include Eko, 26.99MW; Enugu, 1.65MW; Ibadan, 44.85MW; Ikeja, 51.66MW; Kano, 48.35MW and Port Harcourt, 16.34MW.

The number of Discos with unutilised electricity load increased to eight on April 4, as a total of 309.2MW was not distributed to customers across the country by the power firms.

Eko Disco did not utilise 27.10MW; Enugu, 78.18MW; Ibadan, 60.39MW; Ikeja, 46.03MW; Jos, 23.74MW; Kaduna, 5.35MW; Kano, 50.28MW; and Port Harcourt, 18.13MW.

The TCN report obtained by our correspondent further showed that on April 5, seven Discos failed to utilise 238.44MW of electricity and they include Eko, 44.49MW; Enugu, 20.05MW; Ibadan, 35.11MW; Ikeja, 67.39MW; Jos, 4.12MW; Kaduna, 9.86MW; and Kano, 57.22MW.

The highest quantum of unutilised power during the review week was recorded on April 6, as seven power distributors failed to utilise nor distributed 596.07MW of electricity to consumers.

Benin Disco did not utilise 40.42MW; Eko, 200.59MW; Enugu, 66.58MW; Ibadan, 46.54MW; Ikeja, 199.05MW; Jos, 19.50MW; and Kano, 23.39MW.

It was also observed that on April 7, seven Discos could not utilise 424.63MW. The Discos include Benin, 4.58MW; Eko, 127.86MW; Enugu, 69.65MW; Ibadan, 39.95MW; Ikeja, 114.12MW; Jos, 30.04MW; and Kano, 42.43MW.

The report further showed that on April 8, six Discos failed to utilise 363.15MW of electricity, as the unutilised load of Benin Disco was 42.91MW; Eko, 86.97MW; Enugu, 30.94MW; Ibadan, 112.12MW; Ikeja, 89.28MW; and Kano, 0.93MW.