© OCT 2021 | IRE Journals | Volume 5 Issue 4 | ISSN: 2456-8880 IRE 1702823 ICONIC RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING JOURNALS 14 Optimization Of Existing Power Plants in Nigeria Using Omoku Gas Plant as Case Study DIMKPA, PRECIOUSTONE 1 , D.C. IDONIBOYEOBU 2 , S. L. BRAIDE 3 1, 2, 3 Department of Electrical Engineering, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt. Nigeria Abstract- Optimization of power generation of an existing power plant is a research conducted using Omoku gas turbine as a case study. The research is essential for the planning, operation, future expansion and improvement of power generation from Omoku gas turbine. The analysis was conducted to tackle and solve problem of the Omoku gas turbine that was generating power far below its total installed capacity of 150MW by improving the quality of generated power, thus optimizing the 60MW it is currently generating. The study was carried out with bus data, branch data, synchronous generator data and lump load data gotten from the staff within Omoku power station due to restricted access and Covid-19 lockdown in the country. Electrical Transient Analyszer Program (ETAP) 12.6.0 was used to model and simulate the network using Fast Decoupled Load Flow Method (FDLFM). Optimal Capacity Placement (OCP) method was the improvement technique used to enhance efficiency of generated power. Simulation results show that before optimization of the network, the total active and reactive power losses realized from the network are 1428.4KW and 12161.0KVAR, respectively with average voltage drop of 3.35% along the branches of the network. Also, the auxiliary station service transformer, T7 was seen to be operated critically overloaded due to ETAP software employing the standard derating value of 37.2% on the transformer, causing it to operate below its maximum capability, thus prolonging its life span. But after Optimal Capacitor Placement (OCP), the total active and respective power losses incurred along the branches of the network were 839.4KW and 7018.0KVAR respectively. The average percentage voltage drop along the branches was also improved to 1.58%. It can also be seen from the cost analysis that a positive profit is compiled as the loss decreased saving is bigger than the operating cost for each year. A steady increase in profit over the first year of planning is observed, which thereafter remained constant down through the remaining years of planning, birthing and accumulative profit. I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Generation of power in Nigeria dates back to 1886 in the colony of Lagos when two generating set were installed for community service. In 1951 and 1962, the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) and the Niger Dams Authority (NDA) were established. The later was established for hydroelectric power development. In 1972, National Electrical Power Authority was formed from the coming together of the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria and the Niger Dams Authority. NEPA was responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Due to power sector for reforming process in 2005, NEPA was severed and recalled Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). In order to ensure the participation of private companies in electricity generation, transmission and distribution, the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act was signed into law in March, 2005; thereby unbundling PHCN into six generating companies (GenCos), a transmission company (TCN) and eleven electricity distribution companies (DisCos). Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) was also created by the Act as an independent regulator for the sector. At present, it is only the transmission company that is in full control of federal government ownership. 60% of her shares in the eleven (11) DisCos has been vended to the privatized operators, while her interest has been fully deprived of her interest in the six (6) GenCos (Kayode, et al., 2018). The generation companies that were created due to the unbundling of PHCN are Afam Power Plc (776 MW)