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Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe has said electricity supply is expected to improve within 48 to 72 hours as the Federal Government works to resolve generation and transmission constraints behind recent outages across parts of the country.
Tegbe attributed the supply shortfall to planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station in Lagos, which he described as Nigeria’s largest thermal power station and a facility responsible for about 16% of electricity supplied to the national grid.
He disclosed this in a statement titled ‘Update on Power Situation’, shared with Nairametrics on Saturday, amid prolonged blackouts affecting consumers in several states, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory.
Egbin maintenance reduces grid supply
The minister said planned maintenance at Egbin, combined with gas supply constraints affecting some thermal power stations, had reduced electricity available on the national grid, forcing grid operators to implement load shedding in some areas.
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- “I am aware of the strain that the current outages have placed on households and businesses in four affected states, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory.
- “Planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station and constraints in gas supply to some thermal power stations have reduced the amount of electricity available on the national grid. Grid operators have, therefore, implemented load shedding in some areas to manage the shortfall,” he said.
Tegbe also identified sabotage of critical transmission lines as another challenge, saying the damage had restricted the use of alternative routes to supply electricity to some locations, particularly Lagos.
He said the ministry was working with relevant operators to restore affected generating units in phases, improve gas supply and accelerate repairs to damaged infrastructure.
- “My team and I are working to return the affected generating units to service in phases, with the first units coming back online within the next 48 to 72 hours.
- “We are also working with operators to improve gas supply and accelerate repairs to the damaged infrastructure,” he added.
The assurance comes amid complaints from electricity consumers in Lagos and Ogun states over prolonged blackouts, which residents say have made the prevailing hot weather increasingly difficult to endure.
TCN disputes Ikeja Electric outage claims
The supply crisis has also triggered a disagreement between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Ikeja Electric over the causes of recent interruptions.
In a statement on Friday, TCN accused Ikeja Electric of misleading customers by attributing outages recorded on November 3 and 4 to grid instability.
The transmission company maintained that inadequate gas supply to thermal power stations and reduced hydroelectric generation were responsible for the decline in electricity available for distribution.
- “TCN can only transmit the energy made available to it and cannot transmit energy that is not generated,” the company said.
TCN also said the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) had not identified a failure of its transmission network as the cause of the interruptions.
According to the company, 68% of interruptions recorded on feeders supplying Ikeja Electric resulted from frequency-control load shedding caused by low generation. It attributed another 26% to Ikeja Electric’s alleged failure to comply with load allocations, as well as faults and maintenance on its distribution network.
The remaining 6% resulted from TCN’s planned maintenance, switching operations or line limitations.
The disagreement followed Ikeja Electric’s apology to customers on some Band A feeders after it failed to meet the minimum daily electricity supply requirement of 20 hours on November 3 and 4.
FG working to restore electricity supply
Tegbe had earlier attributed the disruptions to maintenance and operational challenges across the power sector, gas shortages at thermal power stations and reduced output from hydropower plants.
He said the Federal Government was engaging TCN, NISO and electricity distribution companies to address the constraints and restore normal supply.
Nairametrics had earlier reported that NISO attributed the nationwide decline in power generation to gas supply constraints affecting thermal power plants and reduced output from hydroelectric stations.
The latest intervention therefore focuses on returning affected generating units to service, improving gas availability and repairing damaged transmission infrastructure, with the minister expecting the first units to come back online within 48 to 72 hours.
