The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has stated that electricity supply will start improving within 48 to 72 hours, as the Federal Government is working to resolve the generation and transmission constraints that caused recent outages in parts of the country.
Tegbe blamed the worsening electricity situation on planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station in Lagos, Nigeria’s “largest” thermal power generating station, which supplies about 16% of the total electricity on the national grid.
The minister made this known in a statement titled ‘Update on Power Situation,’ which he posted on his Facebook page on Friday.
“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 stated that the sabotage of critical transmission lines had restricted the use of alternative routes to supply electricity to some locations, particularly Lagos.
He said his ministry was collaborating with relevant operators to restore affected generating units in stages, enhance gas supply, and speed up 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 minister’s assurance comes as complaints mount from electricity consumers in Lagos and Ogun states about prolonged blackouts, which residents say have made the current hot weather increasingly unbearable.
At the same time, the power crisis has sparked a dispute between the Transmission Company of Nigeria and Ikeja Electric over what caused the recent supply interruptions.
In a statement on Friday, TCN blamed Ikeja Electric for attributing the outages recorded on November 3 and 4 to grid instability, maintaining that inadequate gas supply to thermal power stations and reduced hydroelectric generation were responsible for the decline in electricity available for distribution.
The transmission company called Ikeja Electric’s explanation inaccurate and misleading, contending that the distribution company had wrongly blamed the transmission network for shortfalls related to generation.
“TCN can only transmit the energy made available to it and cannot transmit energy that is not generated,” the company said.
It further stated that the Nigerian Independent System Operator had not pinpointed any failure in its transmission network as the reason for the outages.
TCN said that 68 per cent of the interruptions on feeders supplying Ikeja Electric were due to frequency-control load shedding caused by low generation, while it attributed 26 per cent to Ikeja Electric’s alleged non-compliance with load allocations, along with faults and maintenance on its distribution network.
According to TCN, the remaining six percent came from its planned maintenance, switching operations, or line limitations.
The disagreement arose after Ikeja Electric apologized to customers on certain Band A feeders for not meeting the minimum daily electricity supply requirement of 20 hours on November 3 and 4.
In an earlier statement on Thursday, Tegbe had also linked the electricity 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 collaborating with TCN, NISO, and electricity distribution companies to tackle the constraints and restore normal supply.
