The highly pronounced power failures
across the country in the past few days may worsen following a partial
system collapse that occurred on Tuesday, and the continuous drop in
electricity generation due to what the government says is the vandalism
of pipelines that supply gas to the power plants.
As a result, power generation dropped to 1,580.6 megawatts on Wednesday.
Data from the Nigeria Electricity System
Operator as well as information from senior officials of the different
electricity distribution companies confirmed that power generation
plummeted massively on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The officials noted that this resulted
in the reduction of the electricity load allocated to the Discos,
stressing that this was why many parts of the country had been recording
blackouts in the past few days.
It was learnt that the partial system
collapse that occurred on Tuesday happened at the Shiroro Power Plant
and dragged down electricity generation to as low as 1,233.4MW from a
peak of 3,207.7MW recorded on the same day.
Data from NESO showed that by 9.48am on
Wednesday, power generation was 1,580.6MW, with the Ikeja Electric
getting 237.09MW; Abuja, 181.77MW; Eko, 173.87MW; Benin, 142.25MW; and
Enugu, 142.25MW.
Others are Ibadan, 205.48MW; Jos, 86.93MW; Kano, 126.45MW; Kaduna, 126.45MW; Port Harcourt, 102.74MW; and Yola, 55.32MW.
One of our correspondents gathered that
prior to the partial collapse of the system, the Abuja, Ikeja and Eko
distribution firms were getting over 350MW each to meet the power needs
of a considerable number of their customers.
In fact, it was learnt that the normal
baseline allocation for the Abuja Disco was 450MW, but on Wednesday, the
firm got 181.77MW around 9.48am, according to data from NESO, and this
further dropped to 131.77MW by 1.25pm.
On reason for the slump in electricity
generation, officials at the power arm of the Federal Ministry of Power,
Works and Housing told one of our correspondents that the same old
issue of gas pipeline vandalism had continued to pose challenge to
adequate electricity generation and distribution.
An official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said, “Gas is vital for power generation and most of the
electricity being generated in Nigeria is produced by gas-fired power
plants. Both the ministers of power and petroleum have often called on
Nigerians to help safeguard these infrastructure, but we keep recording
explosions of gas pipelines.
“Currently, repairs are ongoing on some
of the ruptured pipelines and once they are completed, we believe
generation will pick up again.”
Last week, the acting Chief Executive
Officer of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Anthony
Akah, lamented the incidences of vandalism that led to the reduction in
peak power generation and supply from the national grid.
Akah, who spoke in Abuja, solicited the
support of members of the public and the Consumer Protection Council to
collaborate with electricity service providers and security agencies in
ensuring adequate protection of power installations across the country.
Similarly, the Minister of Petroleum
Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that
vandalism had been a serious challenge to not just the oil and gas
sector, but also the power sector.
Meanwhile, the management of Ikeja
Electric has apologised to its customers for the epileptic power supply
across its network in the past three days.
The Head of Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, Mr. Felix Ofulue, made the apology through a statement on Wednesday.
Ofulue attributed the poor service to
the ongoing activities by labour unions picketing the facilities of the
company over the purported sacking of 400 workers.
He said the company’s employees were not
on strike, but that they had been prevented by the protesting labour
unions from gaining access to its facilities and “are, therefore, not in
a position to provide any consistent service to our valued customers.”
Ofulue noted that the situation had
impacted negatively on power supply as well as the purchase of recharge
units because all the substations, business units and undertakings had
been taken over by members of the protesting unions.
He said, “Ikeja Electric regrets all
inconveniences this action may have caused its customers and appeals to
all its customers to please bear with us.
“We assure our customers that the
company is doing its best to normalise the situation within the shortest
possible time. We thank all our customers for their patience and
understanding.”
Power sector workers under the aegis of
National Union of Electricity Employees and Senior Staff Association of
Electricity and Allied Companies had on Monday picketed the head office
of the Ikeja Electric over the sacking of 400 workers of the company.
The union had issued a seven-day
ultimatum to the management of the company last week Tuesday to recall
the disengaged workers or face industrial action.
By Okechukwu Nnodim and ’Femi Asu...punch Newspaper
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