The Abc of Power Generation

You turn on the switch and expect the light to come on or the refrigerator or microwave to function. Adequacy of this commodity is a different topic and I dealt with that of Nigeria in a separate article. We are all familiar with this commodity but how exactly is it created? This article is to provide a simplistic illustration of how this commodity is generated for public use. I refer to the public utility electricity and not just the ones generated by your diesel- or petrol-powered generators. Broadly speaking, electrical energy is generated through the transformation of another source of energy. According to Albert Einstein, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another. Therefore, energy typically undergoes transformation from one form to the other. The common forms of energy are chemical energy, mechanical energy, electrical energy, nuclear energy, and hydro energy. Therefore, the generation of electrical energy is a process of converting one or more forms of energy into electrical energy. 

There are different types of electrical power generation, renewable power, hydroelectric power, nuclear power generation, thermal power generation, etc. Renewable power is generated from energy sources that are not depleted because of the generation of power, examples include solar power and wind power. Hydroelectric power is generated using water to drive turbines which in turn drive generators that produce the electrical power. Nuclear power is generation from nuclear energy. This article dwells on thermal power generation. Thermal power is the electric power generated using fossil fuel as the primary energy source. The most common fossil fuel used for power generation in Nigeria is natural gas. This is not far fetched as Nigeria has the 9th largest reserve of natural gas in the world according to www.worldometers.info

Electricity is generated from natural gas using a mechanical equipment call the gas turbine. These turbines are situated in power plants usually located close to the gas source or at a place where connection to a gas pipeline can be economically made. The gas turbines burn the gas and the energy released is used to drive the turbines and an associated generator. Nigeria currently has 24 thermal power stations with a total installed capacity of about 12GW according to Wikipedia.org. These power plants are mostly clustered in the south to take advantage of the presence of natural gas and reduce the cost of transporting the gas fuel.

The power generated from these power plants, the functional and available ones, is deposited onto the national grid. According to oxfordlearnersdictionary.com, “a national grid is the system of power lines that joins the places where electricity is produced and takes electricity to all parts of the country”. Accordingly, the national grid serves as a conduit through which electricity generated in any part of the country is transported to the consumers. The transportation of the electricity is managed by the transmission company of Nigeria (TCN) to substations near consumers. This is still owned by the federal government of Nigeria.

Distribution & Regulation
In accordance to the Energy Act 1997 private sector were granted access to participate in the energy sector through service contracts and several regulatory bodies were set up in different states across the country. This reform of the power sector centred around the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN) which took place in November 2013, It involved the separation of PHCN and privatisation of the power generation and distribution companies (GENCOS & DISCOs. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria could only supply few hours of power per day hence it was sold to a private firm for US$2.5 billion with the belief that there would be an increase in the supply of electricity across the country.

PHCN is comprised of 11 distribution companies. These distribution companies are responsible for the supply of the electricity from the sub-stations to our homes, offices, industries and other points of use. The 11 distribution companies across Nigeria as recorded by Daily post includes: Ikeja Distribution company , Eko distribution company, Ibadan distribution company, Benin distribution company, Port Harcourt distribution company, Enugu distribution company, Yola distribution com, Kano distribution company, Abuja distribution company, Jos distribution company, Kaduna distribution. The spread of the distribution companies(DISCO) is to ensure that all the 36 states of the federation are covered.

Six power generation companies are also available within the country. In an article written by Commonwealth goveranace it is evident that 15 out of the 17 distribution and power generation companies are in line to be privatised. Currently, the federal government-owned electricity system includes; A radial transmission grid (330kV and 132kV owned by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, three hydro and seven thermal generating stations with an available capacity of approximately 3,542MW and an installed capacity of 6,852MW, the 11 distribution companies (33kV) that manages the cables, sales, collection, billing and customer management activities within their geographical area.

The National Grid
Over 23 power generating plants are connected to Nigeria’s power grid which links the power generation station to electrical loads throughout the country. It is a system that is made up of power generation companies (GENCOS), electricity distribution companies (DISCOS) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). With more than 23 power generating plants

The national grid is regulated and monitored by the National control centre (NCC) to ensure optimal performance and stability.

The Regulatory Body
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission(NERC) is tasked with the regulation of the electric power industry in Nigeria. This independent regulatory body was inaugurated in 2005 under the administration of Obasanjo through the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005. NERC helps to regulate standards of performance for all electricity licensees and monitor performance to ensure that those standards are met and maintained or even exceeded. Primarily, NERC was instituted to regulate electricity tariffs of GENCOS (power generating companies) owned by either the government or authorized organisation. The Commission seeks to provide regulatory responsibilities to protect the interest of all stakeholders. One major objective of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission is to protect the interests of current and potential consumers with relation to electricity conveyed by the distribution companies.