LAGOS (AFP) — Power generation in Nigeria has fallen to 1,000 megawatts from an average of 3,000 as a result of a shortage of gas supplies, the state-run power company PHCN said Tuesday.
The Power Holding Company of Nigeria said in a statement that there had been a shortfall in deliveries from the Nigerian Gas Company to the Egbin and Sapele power plants in recent months.
"This has resulted in generation limitation thereby giving rise to the ongoing load shedding and constant system disturbance," PHCN said.
It blamed the situation on the vandalisation of gas pipelines in the volatile Niger Delta.
Nigeria's 3,000 megawatts is completely inadequate for the needs of its 140 million people.
Even South Africa, which also suffers from power shortages, generates more than 15 times as much power as Nigeria for a population one-third its size.
In February, a presidential committee was set up to triple power supply in the oil-rich west African country over the next 18 months.
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