30
What is Christmas celebration without light? I couldn’t stock my house because the items would get spoilt. It’s so disheartening that the so-called unbundling of the power sector by the government has not been beneficial to the citizens despite its efforts to make things work
THE skyrocketed prices of food items occasioned by jerked-up pump price of petroleum products combined with the worsening power outages in the country made this year’s Christmas celebration for most households and communities, a ‘dark’ one. Residents, especially in Lagos metropolis, observed the celebration in total blackout.
From Egan to Akesan, Obadore, Igando, Ikotun, Abaranje, Okerube, Ijegun, Isheri, Idimu, Ejigbo, Isolo, Ogba and other neighbourhoods visited by this reporter, had been in blackout since December 1 due to power outage. Some residents who spoke to NaijaTimes expressed displeasure at the failure of Ikeja Electric, the distribution company (DisCo) in charge of the areas to supply stable electricity.
In Joseph Adegboye, a street under the Ifesowapo Community Development Association (CDA) in Isuti-Egan, Igando, the vice chairman of the residents association (JASRA), Mr. Emeka Nwosu said, “This is supposed to be a time for joy and merriment but it is not because the atmosphere without light feels like a burden. Everywhere is just dark, it’s a dark Christmas and dark festive period.”
“We have been experiencing this blackout since the third week of November. To make matters worse, Ikeja Electric, the DisCo did not help matter with communication. Perhaps they feel and still see themselves as government parastatal. There is no sense of customer relations in their business operation dictionary as a private entity. They even sent us November bill to pay for a service not rendered,” he added.
Another resident and leader in the CDA, who simply identified himself as, Mr. Ogunmokun said, “I have never experienced a Christmas like this in my life. No light, there is high cost of food items, and no money in circulation. It’s so disappointing that a nation that prides itself as the giant of Africa is struggling with issues such as these, especially light.”
“There has not been power supply in the whole of this Egan since the third week of November. Even when they manage to supply, it doesn’t last up to 10 minutes. When we visited the Ikeja Electric Undertaking Office covering the area, the manager in charge, Engr Adebayo Oyewole told us that the challenge was not from them but from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
“He said that the outage was a result of a damaged breaker at the Ejigbo 33KVA station. According to him, the breaker costs about N90 million. He added that the situation is not peculiar to our area alone, as other communities in the metropolis are also having similar challenges,” Ogunmokun added.
The Chairman of Arije Musa Landlords/Residents Association and Vice Chairman, Ifesowapo Community Development Association further said, “the little light we are getting which is once a week as Engr. Oyewole told us, is being channeled from Ijegun. So they ration it; a reason why the supply light barely lasts up to 30 mins.
“If you go to the filling station, the queue for people wanting to buy fuel with gallons is much more than the vehicles. People buy fuel to power their homes against the heat from the current hot weather, and to pump water.”
“From what Engr. Oyewole told us the possibility of the situation being resolved before the New Year is not feasible. Like the popular Yoruba song… Ilu le o; ko si owo l’ode o… kaluku ki gbe; okunrin ki gbe, obirin ki gbe,” he stated.
In Isolo area, Mr. Afolabi Idowu, a resident of Olu Ajilo said, “this country is in a total mess and it will take God’s divine intervention for it to be fixed.
“What is Christmas celebration without light? I couldn’t stock my house because the items would get spoilt. It’s so disheartening that the so-called unbundling of the power sector by the government has not been beneficial to the citizens despite its efforts to make things work.”
For Mrs Kate Osondu, a resident of Oluwani Street in Oshodi, the Christmas lights in her house remain unplugged, with their colourful bulbs gathering dust in a corner.
“We thought this year would be different,” she sighed, fanning herself with a newspaper. “We saved up to buy a turkey and even managed to get some new clothes for the children. But without light, how can we cook, how can we even gather together comfortably?” she queried.
Berating Ikeja Electric for poor customer service, Gbenga Rotimi, a resident of Ilamoshe, Ejigbo said four days after the statements of the DisCos, power had not been restored to regular programming. “It feels like a nightmare.”
He noted that with the prices of petroleum products (fuel and diesel) at record highs, many households have reduced the usage of their generators amid the rising cost of living in the country.
“We can barely afford to run the generator for a few hours, let alone for the whole Christmas. We resorted to candles and hope for the best,” he lamented.
… Beyond Lagos, the woes and lamentations spread
MEANWHILE, on Monday, December 18, it emerged that the country would face increased electricity outages following shut down of Egbin power station, the largest power generating station in the country with an installed capacity of 1,320 megawatts consisting of six units of 220MW each, and contributing over 16 percent of the total electricity generated to the grid for maintenance.
The management of TCN had in a statement said the power station would be shut down for three days starting Monday, December 18, on the back of gas pipeline maintenance. Checks by NaijaTimes revealed that the station was shut down at 11:13 hours on the announced date to allow the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) maintain a linking gas pipeline supplying gas to the power station.
“This means a reduction of 676 megawatts of bulk power generated into the nation’s grid for three days and consequently the quantum of bulk power available to be delivered to distribution companies load centres nationwide for the period,” the company said.
A source with direct knowledge of the maintenance told NaijaTimes that the NGC successfully carried out the maintenance work on its gas pipeline supplying gas to Egbin power plant.
“The maintenance exercise was successful; however it will take some time to get back to regular programming. It’s a normal engineering procedure,” the source said.
Following the outcry from consumers, Ikeja Electric, with over one million prepaid and postpaid customers on Wednesday, December 20, via its X handle (formerly Twitter) said, “We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by this situation and assure you that normalcy will be restored upon the completion of the maintenance work.”
Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), with at least 450,000 customers, said the maintenance has resulted in reduced allocation from the grid, causing massive load shedding across its network.
The tale was not different for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital as its service provider, the Ibadan Electric Distribution Company (IBEDC) on Tuesday, December 19 said that its customers in the Abeokuta metropolis were experiencing power outage due to maintenance.
Checks by NaijaTimes showed that as of December 4, Nigeria’s electricity generation rose by 5.1 percent, to 5,011 MW from 4,757.36MW recorded in November. However, data from the Nigerian Electricity System Operator (NESO) showed that as of 6 am on Sunday, December 24, the total electricity generation in the country had dropped from 4,678.33MW that it was on Saturday, December 23 as of 6 am and stands at 4,591.92MW.
It was gathered that the energy distributed by the DisCos to consumers is usually less than what is generated owing to transmission and distribution challenges, a situation that made the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, decried the recent act of vandalism on electricity infrastructure.
“A transmission tower in Yobe State, tower T372, was deliberately brought down, causing a ripple effect that led to the collapse of tower T373 along the same transmission line. This criminal act occurred at 21:18 and has disrupted power supply to parts of the North East, affecting Yobe and Borno States,” Adelabu said on Saturday, December 24, via X.
He said his ministry was working closely with law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident thoroughly. “In addition to immediate actions, we are mobilising resources to quickly reconstruct the damaged towers.
“Restoring power supply to Yobe and Borno States is our priority. This act of vandalism not only caused inconvenience but also raised concerns about the safety of our power infrastructure.”
According to System Operation (SO), a semi-autonomous sector under the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the transmission system in Nigeria comprises 330 KV and 132 KV circuits and substations.
The thermal generation is located in the south of the country, generally near to the sources of gas, while the hydro generation is located further north at Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro. Distribution is split into 11 zones and the distribution networks comprise 33 KV, 11 KV and low voltage circuits. System nominal frequency is 50 Hz.
