Spatial distribution of electricity in rantya lomang area of jos south, Nigeria

In Nigeria, electricity demand far outstrips the supply. Electricity supply is epileptic in nature. Inadequate supply of electricity to meet the demands of consumers poses hindrance to national development. This study focused on the spatial spread and phase-load distribution of electricity power reticulation in the Rantya Lomang area of Jos South Local Government, Plateau State, Nigeria. The aims were to ascertain the phase load distribution and estimate the total load demand on the study substation for effective distribution of electricity. The methods of data collection included the use of a GIS/Remote sensing technology including a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, acquiring coordinates of entities (buildings and poles) with attributes such as their demand and supply points. A total of 130 buildings and 122 electric poles were captured alongside their respective attributes. Phase distribution of load was subjected to the Chi-square statistical test in order to test the hypothesis that there is an even distribution of load on supply phases of electricity to consumers within the study area. From the data collected and analyzed it was discovered that the study area was primarily a residential area with estimated total load capacities of 462.9654 kVA per house and 459.692 kVA per phase. The findings of the study indicated that there is an uneven distribution of load on the supply phases of electricity to consumers. This paper therefore recommends that the existing transformer in the study area with a load capacity of 300 kVA should be upgraded to a 500 kVA or greater load capacity transformer. This would assist in improving the general supply and distribution of electricity to the study area and, invariably, allow for adequate redistribution of electricity supply to consumers