•Discos get N509.84 billion, foreign customers pay $5.21 million

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Despite pledging to raise power generation to 6,000MW in December, information from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), yesterday showed that power generation indeed fell during the period.

In its Q4, 2024 report, NERC stated that the total electricity generated decreased by 160.81GWh (-1.70 per cent) from 9,450.76GWh in 2024/Q3 to 9,289.95GWh.

This was in spite of the average available generation capacity across the grid-connected plants increasing by 195.98MW (+3.84 per cent) from the 5,100.90MW recorded in 2024/Q3 to 5,296.89MW in 2024/Q4, the report stated.

During the period under consideration, there were 28 grid-connected power plants consisting of 19 gas, five hydro, two  steam, and two gas/steam-powered plants, with the average available generation capacity of the grid-connected power plants being 5,296.89MW.

The NERC report blamed the decrease in generation during the quarter as primarily due to the reduction in energy offtake by the grid-connected customers, including Distribution Companies (Discos) compared to 2024/Q3.

“The average hourly generation on the grid in 2024/Q4 was 4,207.41MWh/h, which translates to a total generation of 9,289.95GWh. The average hourly generation of grid-connected power plants decreased by 72.83MWh/h (-1.70 per cent) from 4,280.24MWh/h in 2024/Q3.

“The total electricity generated in the quarter also decreased by 160.81GWh (-1.70 per cent) from 9,450.76GWh in 2024/Q3 to 9,289.95GWh. The decrease in generation during the quarter was primarily due to the decrease in energy offtake by the grid-connected customers (including Discos) compared to 2024/Q3,” it added.

In 2024/Q4, the NERC report stated that the average lower daily (49.39Hz) and average upper daily (50.91Hz) system frequencies were outside the normal operating limits (49.75Hz – 50.25Hz), but remained within the lower and higher bound stress limits (48.75Hz 51.25Hz).

However, the commission said it continues to push the System Operator (SO) to improve its system coordination activities to avert the system risk posed by the continuous operation of the grid outside the normal operating limits.

It listed three incidents of total collapse and two incidents of partial collapse which occurred on the national grid in 2024/Q4.

“The partial collapses were recorded on October 14 and November 5. 2024, while the total collapses were recorded on 19 October, 07 November and 11 December 2024, respectively,” it added.

NERC stated that it continues  to ensure the safety, security, reliability, and quality of service in the production and delivery of electricity to consumers, by monitoring the technical, operational, and commercial performance of the industry players.

During the period, the average energy offtake by Discos at their trading points was 3,360.77MWh/h out of the available 3,552.26MWh/h, translating to an overall offtake performance of 94.61 per cent.

The energy offtake during the quarter, it said,  was 3,360.77MWh/h, representing a decrease of 84.36MWh/h (-2.45 per cent) compared to the 3,445.13MWh/h recorded in 2024/Q3.

The total energy received by all Discos in 2024/Q4 was 7,420.58GWh, while the energy billed to end-use customers was 6,207.84GWh, translating into an overall billing efficiency of 83.66 per cent , NERC stated.

According to the quarterly report, the total revenue collected by all Discos in 2024/Q4 was N509.84 billion out of N658.40 billion billed to customers, translating to a collection efficiency of 77.44 per cent, representing an increase of +2.89 per cent compared to 2024/Q3 (74.55 per cent).

The sector recorded an Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) loss, a summation of billing losses incurred by a Disco due to its inability to bill 100 per cent of energy delivered to customers, according to the new document.

NERC stated that only Yola and Eko Discos achieved their target ATC&C, as provided for  during the quarter, with the other Discos failing to achieve their target ATC&C and Kaduna Disco recording the worst performance relative to the target ATC&C.

“In 2024/Q4, the cumulative upstream invoice payable by Discos was N408.86 billion, consisting of N360.97 billion for adjusted generation costs and N47.89 billion for transmission and administrative services by the MO.

“Out of this amount, the Discos collectively remitted a total sum of N378.93 billion (N336.63 billion for NBET and N42.30 billion for MO) with an outstanding balance of N29.92 billion. This translates to a remittance performance of 92.68 per cent in 2024/Q4 compared to the 83.77 per cent recorded in 2024/Q3,” it stated.

In 2024/Q4, the report stated that the international bilateral customers purchasing power from the grid-connected Gencos made a cumulative payment of $5.21 million against the $14.05 million invoice issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2024/Q4.

“It is noteworthy that some bilateral customers (both domestic and international customers) made payments during 2024/Q4 for outstanding MO invoices from previous quarters. Paras-CEET, Pars-SBEE and Transcorp-SBEE made payments of $0.98 million, $0.70 million and $1.30 million, respectively, towards outstanding invoices from previous quarters.

Nigeria exports electricity to neighbouring West African countries, primarily Niger, Benin, and Togo. The entities involved in these transactions are mainly: Niger: Societe Nigerienne d’electricite (NIGELEC); Benin: Communaute Electrique du Benin (CEB) and Togo: Communaute Electrique du Benin (CEB).

“Similarly, the domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of N1,252.58 million against the N1,977.02 million invoice issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2024/Q43,” the report stated.

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