With many power-generating plants connected to the national grid and a generous promise by the companies of generating 30,000 megawatts of electricity by 2030, in 2023, they still grapple with producing 5,000MW.
Poor maintenance and shortage of gas were the reasons the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, gave as the causes of the national grid collapse. Recently, a coalition of the climate change network, Society for Planet and Prosperity, GCA Capital Partners and Climate Advisers Network reported that about 75 per cent of electricity in Nigeria was from diesel and petrol-powered generators.
According to him, methane stays longer in the atmosphere than other gases such as carbon dioxide and mono oxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulphur oxide. Adetoyi confirmed that noise pollution was another side effect of constant generator use with serious health implications. The ozone layer covers the entire planet and protects life on earth by absorbing harmful rays from the sun.
“Many countries are already talking about clean energy because fossil fuel contains some dangerous contaminants like the hydrocarbons and heavy metals like lead and sulfur, among others. That is why we are now talking about electric cars, hydro and solar-powered electricity,” she stated. “People cannot continue to stay in darkness, so they have no choice but to keep using diesel and petrol to power their generators. Those who do not use generators are also affected by their neighbour’s use of generators.”The Assistant General Manager of the sales department of a power and energy solutions industry, LionRock Corporate Nigeria Limited, Kashif Khan, stated that the improper placement of generator sets was behind carbon poisoning.
According to him, high electricity demand, which is more than the supply, and the inefficient power generation method, are reasons for the unstable power supply in the country.
Nigerians keep paying for darkness