The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved a deal to procure 450 megawatts of electricity from Zungeru Hydro Electricity Generation Company Limited.
The directive, said to have been issued further to the Commission’s Order No. NERC/2024/044 on the “Transmission System Dispatch Operation, Cross-Border Supply and Related Matters” and in the overriding public interest of ensuring continuous improvement in the supply of electricity to Nigerians, was to ensure grid stability and prevent shutdown of the newly completed Zungeru hydropower plant pending when it gets off-takers.
In a directive signed by its Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, the NERC acknowledged that the sub-optimal grid dispatch experienced on the national grid is partly occasioned by low generation.
This, in turn, affects the electricity distribution companies’ ability to deliver on the committed service levels to end-use customers due to frequent interruptions to manage transient and recurring grid imbalances.
The commission further noted that the Zungeru Hydro Electricity Generation Company had successfully concluded its initial capacity testing on May 15, with a demonstrated average generation capacity of 600MW.