From David Onuoja, Abuja
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has acknowledged the concerns by Nigerians over the reduced electricity supply in parts of the country in the past few days, especially Lagos, Abuja, Ogun, Kwara and Oyo States respectively, who have recently enjoyed noticeable improvements in supply before the current downtimes due to the declined in generations and gas supply.
In a statement on Thursday by the Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the Minister of Power, Adeola Adelabu, said it understands the frustration and inconvenience the outages have caused households, businesses and public institutions, noting that it does not take it lightly what every hour without power means for individuals, families and businesses while promised to address the issue immediately.
Preliminary assessments, show that the disruptions are not the result of any major or systemic failure of the national grid, but stem from maintenance and operational issues on parts of the power ecosystem, together with a decline in generation caused by constraints in gas supply to thermal power stations and reduced output from hydroelectric stations due to lower water inflows into reservoirs, all of which are being addressed.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said he is working closely with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) and the Distribution Companies (DisCos) to restore normal supply quickly, resolve the operational constraints, speed up ongoing maintenance and keep the public informed, while reaffirming the Ministry’s commitment to improving the reliability and quality of electricity supply nationwide.
