The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe has given the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) a deadline of November ending to restore operations on the Osogbo/Ikeja west transmission line.
Appearing on TVC breakfast show on Monday, the Minister acknowledged the frustration of Nigerians over recent unstable power supply, noting that the government understood the effect of power disruptions on households, businesses and livelihoods.
He said the recent electricity disruptions affecting Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and parts of Kwara State were caused by planned maintenance at the Egbin power plant and vandalism of the Benin-Egbin 330kV transmission line.
According to him, the transmission line typically supplies between 300 and 400 megawatts of electricity to the Lagos complex, while the combined disruptions resulted in the loss of almost 800 megawatts.
The Minister noted that the reduced supply forced authorities to introduce load shedding across the affected areas.
He, however, said the Benin-Egbin line had been restored, adding that the Lagos complex was receiving about 1,000 megawatts as of the morning of the interview.
Tegbe further disclosed that Egbin’s ST-1 turbine was operational, while ST-3 was expected to resume operation later on Monday evening, providing an additional 150 megawatts.
He explained that Lagos had four major transmission lines, three of which were currently operational, while the Osogbo/Ikeja West line had been out of service for about 18 months.
The line, he said, could deliver an additional 400 megawatts to Lagos but had been affected by the vandalism of about six transmission towers in a swampy area.
The Minister revealed the government had secured a commitment to restore the line by the end of November, expressing confidence that electricity supply would improve across the Lagos-Ogun corridor once the repairs were completed.
Tegbe further identified gas supply, generation, transmission and distribution as major challenges affecting the electricity value chain.
He dismissed concerns about the availability of gas in Nigeria, saying the country had sufficient gas resources but faced constraints within the supply chain.
According to him, the inability of generating companies to pay for gas due to outstanding debts was limiting electricity production.
He said the Federal Government had identified about ₦3.3tn in outstanding debts affecting gas suppliers and generating companies, adding that approximately ₦1.23tn had been paid in recent months.
The Minister said the remaining debt of about ₦2tn was expected to be cleared next year.
He explained that addressing the liquidity challenges would improve the ability of generating companies to purchase gas and supply electricity to the national grid.
