DisCos reject 3,778.93MW of electricity in seven days
Solomon Ezeme
The Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria between May 10 and May 16, 2021, rejected a total of 3,778.93 Mega Watts(MW) of electricity. This quantity of electricity was wasted within the week under review, it therefore translates to unutilised power by the DisCos.
The above data was based on the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) daily DisCos load summary obtained by EnergyDay.
The Ikeja and Eko DisCos respectively topped the list of distribution companies under-utilizing the electricity transmitted to them in the period under review.
According to the TCN data, during the period in question, the two DisCos rejected a total of 3,778.93 MW of electricity out of the 26,216.19 MW MYTO allocation.
When the EnergyDay Research Team evaluated the report on the Daily DisCos Load Summary given by TCN it was discovered that out of the total of 26,216.19 MW of the MYTO (Multi-Year Tariff Order) allocation to all 11 DisCos for the stated period, only 22,437.26 MW was distributed to electricity consumers within the areas they covered.
This showed that a total of 3,778.93 Mega Watts of electricity was not distributed to electricity users, despite the general complaints about low electricity supply in the country.
The Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) allocation is the daily power transmitted to DisCos by TCN for onward distribution to electricity consumers under their respective networks.
Ikeja Electric (I.E) and Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) jointly wasted a total of 1,607.36 MW: the former wasting 1,005.19 MW, and the latter, 602.17 MW.
This is about 50% (42.53%, more precisely) of the total electricity wasted by all DisCos.
The Ibadan and Kano DisCos were allocated 3,314.56 MW and 1,976.68 MW, respectively. They both rejected a total of 967.13 MW, as Ibadan alone rejected 501.27 MW. and distributed 2,813.29 MW of electricity to consumers, while Kano DisCo was able to distribute 76.43% of its MYTO allocation.
Four others , including Yola, Kaduna, Jos and Enugu DisCos rejected 201.48 MW, 256.05 MW, 258.94 MW and 291.45 MW, respectively.
The Abuja DisCos topped the list for optimal distribution of power to consumers. Out of the 2,897.18 MYTO allocated to it, distributed 2,882.93 MW to consumers, with only 14.25 MW unutilized.
Port-Harcourt DisCo followed closely with about 95% (1,546.44 MW) of its MYTO allocation of 1,629.73 MW distributed to electricity users. Only 83.29 MW was rejected, during the period.
Benin DisCo came third for optimal distribution of power to consumers. Its total allocated power, for the period in focus, stood at 2,202.32 MW. It distributed a total of 2,103.34 MW to consumers within its coverage, with only 98.98 MW unused.
The summary of this is that the rate at which some of these DisCos have been rejecting electricity which in its present state is not even enough for the 200 million users across the country, is worrisome. Records showed that almost 15 percent of paltry MYTO allocation of 26,216.19 MW of power generated in the period under review, was recorded as a loss—this is not indicative of commercial viability of the distribution firms. NERC therefore must step up in its regulatory functions.
