CHARACTERIZATION OF ELECTRICITY USE PATTERN IN A LARGE-SCALE CEMENT FACTORY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This research presents the characterization of electricity use pattern conducted in Dangote Cement Plant (DCP), located in Obajana, Kogi state, Nigeria. This study utilized the concept of specific energy consumption (SEC) as an index for measuring and characterizing electricity use pattern in Dangote cement factory. The potential loading of the cement factory for optimal supply side load management on the Nigeria national grid was also evaluated by analyzing the effects of the factory peak load on the national and determining the factory’s generator surplus that can be fed into National grid while considering its cost implication. Power flow analysis was carried out on an integrated network of the Dangote cement plant with the national grid via the nearest bus therein Geregu bus using Newton Raphson algorithm on NEPLAN toolbox. The effect of this integration was investigated in terms of voltage stability and transient stability for various contingencies. The model showed the SEC of the plant to be within 80-120 kWh/ton. The load profile showed that the maximum load of the plant for year 2016 was 148.76 MW, with the average load at 67.30 MW and minimum load of 10.28 MW. The estimated annual income stands at ₦ 680,121,297.83 for the daily reserve capacity of 914 MWh at unit electrical energy cost of 18 ₦/kWh with a break even period of 3 years and 10 months should the plant decide to export energy to the national grid. The swing curve indicates that the grid transfer capability is 193.5% of the total grid load at 74.87% voltage profile. The results obtained from this work provides a useful guide on possible actions that could be taken by the management to ensure optimal performance at the factory while also giving relevant information that are useful for decision making by economic stakeholders and investors regarding the sector for policy making in case of future design and implementation.