Power Supply to Improve in 72 Hours, Says Minister

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has assured Nigerians that electricity supply will begin to improve within 48 to 72 hours. This is as the Federal Government works to address generation and transmission constraints responsible for recent outages in parts of the country. Tegbe made this statement in a post on his Facebook page on Friday. He attributed the worsening electricity situation to planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station, Nigeria's largest thermal power generating station in Lagos.

Egbin Power Station supplies about 16% of the total electricity on the national grid. The planned maintenance at the station and constraints in gas supply to some thermal power stations have reduced the amount of electricity available on the national grid. As a result, grid operators have implemented load shedding in some areas to manage the shortfall. Tegbe acknowledged the strain that the current outages have placed on households and businesses in four affected states, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory.

The Minister disclosed that his ministry is working with relevant operators to restore affected generating units in phases, improve gas supply, and accelerate repairs to damaged infrastructure. He stated that the first units would come back online within the next 48 to 72 hours. Tegbe also mentioned that the sabotage of critical transmission lines had restricted the use of alternative routes to supply electricity to some locations, particularly Lagos.

The power crisis has triggered a disagreement between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Ikeja Electric over the causes of recent supply interruptions. TCN faulted Ikeja Electric's attribution of outages recorded on November 3 and 4 to grid instability. Instead, TCN insisted that inadequate gas supply to thermal power stations and reduced hydroelectric generation were responsible for the decline in electricity available for distribution.

TCN described Ikeja Electric's explanation as inaccurate and misleading, arguing that the distribution company had wrongly attributed generation-related shortfalls to the transmission network. The company maintained that it can only transmit the energy made available to it and cannot transmit energy that is not generated. TCN also attributed 68% of interruptions recorded on feeders supplying Ikeja Electric to frequency-control load shedding caused by low generation.

The disagreement came after Ikeja Electric apologized to customers on some Band A feeders for failing to meet the minimum daily electricity supply requirement of 20 hours on November 3 and 4. Earlier, Tegbe had attributed the electricity disruptions to maintenance and operational challenges across the power sector, gas shortages at thermal power stations, and reduced output from hydropower plants.

The Federal Government is working with TCN, NISO, and electricity distribution companies to address the constraints and restore normal supply. The Minister's assurance comes amid growing complaints from electricity consumers in Lagos and Ogun states over prolonged blackouts, which residents say have made the prevailing hot weather increasingly unbearable.

Key points

• The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, expects electricity supply to improve within 48 to 72 hours.
• The recent outages were caused by planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station and constraints in gas supply to some thermal power stations.
• The Federal Government is working to restore affected generating units, improve gas supply, and accelerate repairs to damaged infrastructure.