…cites ongoing maintenance at Egbin power station
The Minister of Power has assured Nigerians that electricity supply will gradually improve over the next 48 to 72 hours following severe power outages affecting parts of the country.
The Minister made this known in a statement on Saturday addressing widespread blackouts that have hit households and businesses across four states, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the Minister, the drop in available electricity on the national grid stems from scheduled maintenance at the Egbin Power Station alongside acute gas supply bottlenecks affecting several thermal power plants.
He however noted that the grid is stable nothing that system operators were forced to execute load shedding across multiple distribution networks to protect the stability of the grid.
He also revealed that deliberate vandalism of key transmission lines has severely restricted the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s capacity to deploy alternative wheeling routes, leaving Lagos particularly vulnerable.
Tegbe stated that technical teams are actively working to restore the shutdown generation units in phased stages, with the initial batch expected to reconnect to the national grid within the next two to three days.
He also noted that the Ministry is also engaging upstream gas suppliers to ease feed constraints and fast-tracking emergency repairs on damaged transmission corridors.
Expressing gratitude to consumers for their patience, Tegbe noted that further operational updates will be released as supply restoration progresses.
Recall that on Friday in Lagos, the Minister alongside the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi secured the the release of transmission equipment that has been stranded at the nation’s ports for up to twenty years.
Announcing the development at a media address in Lagos, Tegbe said the first 44 containers were released from the ENL Terminal and another 54 from the APMT and Sun & Moon Terminals, bringing the total to 98 of over 300 containers held.
The Minister explained that the equipment, which includes high-capacity transformers, cables and switchgear, was procured to expand the transmission network and relieve overloaded substations. Its detention stalled projects, kept existing substations under heavy strain, exposed valuable assets to deterioration and accumulated charges on the cargoes.
By recovering equipment that has hitherto remained idle for years, the government is converting policy into power, and promise into progress that people can feel in their homes, shops and workplaces, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
