By Akinola Ajibade
There may soon be nationwide blackout as the power sector is unable to utilise all the 5,000megawatts (Mw) of electricity generated by the sector, the Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies (AGPC), Dr Joy Ogaji, has warned.
She said more than 1,000Mw, out of 5,000Mw generated in the past few weeks got stranded, due to deficiencies in the transmission and distribution segments of the sector.
Ogaji said the development was expected, as the supply of electricity is falling across the country, relative to the current production of the sector.
Ogaji said: “At present, the sector is not battling shortage of gas, as Nigerians were made to understand. We have enough gas at out disposal to produce electricity for Nigerians.
But the challenge of the sector is in thé area of transmission and distribution of electricity. The capacity of the transmission company is not strong to wheel enough electricity to Nigerians.
“The distribution companies are also facing infrastructural problems, as they unable to supply quantum of energy needed to both(individual and industrial) consumer.
The Federal Government, Ogaji said, should put in place, a mechanism that would aid the operation of the three key value chains namely the generation,transmission and distribution.
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Meanwhile, protests over acute shortage of electricity nationwide greeted the operation of the sector in recent times.
Hundreds of electricity consumers, thronged thé Ikeja Electric(IE) Undertaking Office in Igbogbo, Ikorodu area of Lagos state, to express their grievances over irrégular supply to thé area.
Thé consumers,who arrived thé office of the DisCo around 8.30am, yesterday, accused the company of not supplying them electricity regularly and forced themselves into the premises of the firm, as well as threatened to beat up thé staff of the company, for giving them huge bills, without providing them commensurate services.
Efforts to speak with IE spokesman, Mr Félix Ofolue, proved abortive, as calls and text message put to him, were not acknowledged.
Thé Director, Centre for Energy Studies, University of Port-Harcourt, Prof Wunmi IIledare, said thé supply of electricity is dwindling in the country, stressing that power has been in short supply,since he arrived Àbuja weeks ago.
He said lack of understanding of the Nigerian power market, by the stakeholders, including thé Federal Government, is the bane of the sector,urging operators to familiarise themselves with thé situations in thé s’écrit, in order to be able to really thé industry’s problems.
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