Power distributors reject 114.53 MW/h in Q2 2023

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that power distributors grappled with a substantial average load rejection in the second quarter of 2023, despite the nation’s persistently low power supply.

According to NERC’s latest report for the 2023 Second Quarter, the power distributors declined an average of 114.53 megawatt-hours per hour of electricity during this period.

In addition to the load rejection, the report also highlighted that power distributors managed to install 178,864 new meters for consumers during the same quarter.

However, there was a significant increase in complaints from power users, which surged by approximately 31 per cent. The rise in grievances was attributed to persistent mechanical faults and gas supply constraints that hampered power generation in Q2.

NERC’s data indicated that all 11 power distribution companies in Nigeria accepted less electricity than their contracted capacities, resulting in an average cumulative load rejection of 114.53 MWh/h.

This load rejection occurred amid power outages that affected numerous locations across the country.

Throughout the three months, the collective average energy offtake of the 11 Discos amounted to 3,251.31 MWh/h, while their available partially contracted capacity stood at 3,365.84 MWh/h.

NERC clarified the energy offtake performance by explaining that since July 2022, when the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry transitioned to the Partial Activation of Contract regime, the target volume of energy to be offtaken by Discos had been defined as their partially contracted capacity.

This structure is consistent with international best practices for long-term contract-based power procurement and ensures that Gencos (generation companies) earn capacity payments to compensate them for availability.

To curtail this practice, the commission included load offtake as a key metric in its KPI Order—Order on Performance Monitoring Framework (NERC/316-326/2022), which was issued to Discos effective October 2022.