GenCos blame weak transmission for erratic power supply

Power generation companies (GenCos) have kicked against claims by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) that they are performing below capacity.

Joy Ogaji, executive secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies, said this on Sunday at a press briefing in Abuja.

Last week, TCN said the recent blackouts across the country were because of technical problems at power generation plants and poor gas supply.

Ogaji affirmed that the transmission infrastructure put in place by TCN was weak.

“Since 2013 when the power sector was partially privatised till date, weak and inadequate infrastructure (transmission and distribution) have continued to render inconsequential, a significant portion of the generation capacities recovered or added by Gencos through huge investments to increase their respective generation capacities,” Ogaji said.

“While the owners of the Gencos invested and increased generation capacity up to 13,000 megawatts across the country, no corresponding investment and improvements were made at the transmission and distribution ends.

“The result was the significant stranded capacity of Gencos, which ironically, Nigerians are in dire need of but cannot get.”

She also said that capacity utilisation in any market was often used as a measure of productive efficiency, adding that decisions about investments in power generating capacity were dependent on expected returns and costs.

“The persistence of this anomaly over these years compelled Gencos to begin to question the commercial reasonability of continued investment in recovery or expansion of generation capacity that would end up being stranded and not utilised to transmit and distribute electricity to end-users who are yearning for the same,” she added.

According to the APGC, the claim by TCN that all generating companies were performing below capacity is unacceptable.

She added that GenCos were also being owed billions of naira through the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc.

“We reject any attempt to continue to extend the blame game by suggesting that Gencos are responsible for the current state of things in the power sector,” she said.

“Nothing can be farther from the truth than that.”