The Nation Newspaper

Tag: outage

  • Youths protest 10-year power outage in Ondo

    Scores of youths have marched on streets of Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, to protest 10 years blackout.

    Aggrieved youths regretted the alleged neglect of the riverine area by the government.

    Under the aegis of Ilaje Advancement Forum (IAF), youths gathered in large numbers and sang solidarity songs in Yoruba: Ko sina, ko sibo (No light, no election).

    There was traffic gridlock during the protest, which has the second largest market in West Africa.

    The development paralysed economic activities for hours.

    The youths carried placards, reading: “Ilaje: enough is enough”; “What offence has Ilaje people committed”; “Ondo State government has failed us”; “OSOPADEC is fake”; “NDDC is fraud”; “The Federal Government has failed in service delivery”; “Our leaders are rogues” and “No light, no election.”

    Co-convener of the protest Tokunbo Ehinmowo decried the deplorable state of the riverine area.

    She said the Ilaje nation, despite its natural resources and contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), had been neglected.

    Ehinmowo noted that IAF was a mass movement of the Ilaje to bring about change.

    The co-convener noted that non-availability of power supply has pushed the people into hardship in the last 10 years.

    She regretted that there are on industries and factories, with the prevalence of infrastructural decay, environmental degradation, and poor empowerment projects in the area.

    Ehinmowo blamed representatives of the area for this dreary state.

    Another member of the group, Oluwajuwon Ogunbiyi, said the crux of the protest is to demand the “renegotiation of social contract between the government and the people of Ilaje Local Government Area”.

    He added: “We are the local government producing the largest chunk of money to the Federal Government through our oil resources. We surrender everything we have for the government under a social contract to take care of us.”

    He said over N6 billion for Ayetoro Shoreline Protection project and other intervention funds by agencies were embezzled by their leaders.

    The Yeye Oge of Igbokoda, Mrs Stella Odunnuga and Mr Adekunle Odusola, said their representatives in oil companies had failed the people for allegedly using public funds to enrich themselves and their cronies.

  • Artisans lament power outage in Kogi

    Artisans lament power outage in Kogi

    The Blacksmith, Welders and Iron Benders Association of Nigeria (BWIAN) in Kogi State has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Yahaya Bello to rescue their business from imminent collapse.

    They berated the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) for not keeping to its promise of distributing prepaid metres to customers after so many years. They lamented that their members in the central senatorial district, over 2,000, would soon be pushed out of the trade if urgent actions are not taken by the government.

    A statement by the association’s president in Kogi Central Musa Sa’id, and the branch chairmen of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Okene and Okehi councils, said: “The AEDC, in the last three years, has been sending our members crazy bills for the electricity they did not consume.

    “More worrisome is the six hours’ light-a day, we get which, if evaluated, amounts to only seven days in a month. But the company bill us for 30 days.

    “We are tired of paying for the electricity we did not use. While disconnected, the bills keep coming. Many of us can no longer feed our families talk less of paying school fees. We get jobs but there is no electricity to execute them.

    “We have been asking AEDC to give us prepaid metres, but they deliberately refused to serve us because they want to continue cheating us”.

    The Liaison Officer, Licensed Electrical Contractors Association of Nigeria (LECAN), Haruna Ahmed Osike, who bemoaned the plight of the artisans, appreciated the government’s effort at encouraging people to learn a trade for self-reliance. He, however, lamented that the power situation is discouraging and may spell doom for the state and the country at large.

    AEDC’s Marketing Manager, Okene Business Unit, Mr. Olusegun Pelema, however promised that the association’s complaint will be forwarded to the company’s head office in Abuja for attention.

  • Electricity company apologises for prolonged power outage in Lagos

    The management of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Sunday apologised to consumers in Ajah, Lagos and environs over the protracted power outage in the communities.

    Mr Godwin Idemudia, General Manager, Corporate Communications of the company, said in Lagos that the outage being experienced by Ajah, Ogombo, Ajiwe and some neighbouring communities was due to a faulty equipment.

    Idemudia, however, said that repair work to resolve the issue was ongoing by the technical crew of EKEDC and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    He assured the consumers that electricity supply would be restored on Monday.

    “We wish to apologise to all our customers in the Ajah area and its environs over the recent long period of outage being experienced.

    “This outage has been due to faulty equipment which is being worked on by EKEDC and TCN. Normal supply should be back by Monday, March 20.

    “Kindly bear with us as we find lasting solution to this.

    “EKEDC highly regrets any inconveniences caused by this outage,” Idemudia said in a statement. (NAN)

  • Residents decry power outage, outrageous bills

    Electricity consumers in Auchi, Jattu and South-Ibie in Etsako West Local Government of Edo State have decried epileptic electricity supply and outrageous billing by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).

    They told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) it crippled economic and social activities.

    Mr. Umoru Abu, a resident, said: “BEDC has made life unbearable for us. We cannot operate our businesses due to epileptic electricity supply.”

    Another resident, Mr. Aloysius Dumare, condemned estimated monthly billing despite erratic power supply.

    He said: “There is no commitment on the part of the distribution company to provide prepaid meters.

    “BEDC should do something about our meters because estimated billing is unbearable.”

    Mr. Aliu Polycap urged BEDC to improve electricity supply and ensure distribution of prepaid meters.

    He enjoined the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to monitor activities and ensure quality service delivery.

    BEDC spokesman Caleb Ntem said the company was concerned about people’s plight.

    He appealed to consumers for understanding.

    Ntem attributed epileptic electricity supply to drop in allocation from the national grid.

    He said: “Electricity from the national grid has dropped below 2,000 megawatts. Today, we have 806 megawatts, which is not enough for us to give every consumer 24-hour supply.

    “As for prepaid meters, BEDC will soon begin installation for those who have paid.”

  • Ajah, Lekki, Alagbon face three-hour outage

    •Ekedc apologises for ‘prolonged blackout’

    There will be a three-hour power outage in Lekki, Ajah and part of Alagbon in Lagos on Thursday, Eko Electric Distribution Company (EKEDC) said yesterday just as it apologised for the “prolonged outage” in its domain.

    The firm’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Godwin Idemudia, said in a statement, that the planned outage would enable its maintenance crew to replace the weak aluminium conductor down dropper between the line and capacitor voltage transformer at Ajah T.S.

    He said the company had been briefed by Mr Mustapha Raji, an engineer from Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Ajah Sub-Region.

    “Kindly note that on Thursday between 10am and 1pm, there will be an outage on 330kV Egbin – Aja Line 3.

    “This is to enable maintenance crew to replace the weak aluminium conductor down dropper between the line and the capacitor voltage transformer at Aja T.S.

    “With this outage, Aja, Lekki and part of Alagbon T.S. will be affected.

    “EKEDC highly regrets any inconvenience caused by this three-hour outage, “ Idemudia said.

    Apologising for putting customers in darkness, Idemudia, in another statement, blamed the shortage on drastic reduction in the amount of electricity coming to EKEDC from the national grid.

    According to the statement, the company could only distribute what was allocated to it from the national grid.

    “We are, therefore, appealing to all our customers to bear with us as we try to ration whatever power is given to us in the interim.

    “EKEDC highly regrets any inconveniences caused by this prolonged blackout, though most of our consumers are affected by this outage but some areas are deeply affected.

    “Areas deeply affected by the drop in generation are Ikoyi, Park View Estate, Victoria Island, Awolowo Road, Obalende, Idumagbo, Lagos Island, Oniru and Lekki areas,” the statement said.

    The statement said the outage had led to vandalism of cables and transformers by unscrupulous elements.

    It appealed to consumers within the network to be vigilant to stem the spate of cable theft and transformers vandalism.

    “We also want to use this opportunity to appeal to our customers to be vigilant over our equipment as vandals may capitalise on the outage to carry out their evil act,” it stated.

  • Power outage disrupts flights at Lagos airport

    •FAAN apologises to airlines, passengers

    Flight operations at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, was at the weekend disrupted by power outage.

    Last  night, the primary source of power was yet to be restored, forcing the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN) to run the facility on independent generators.

    Consequently, airlines found it difficult to initiate on time departures at the airport.

    The outage, a source hinted, has caused damage to the air-bridges used by airlines to disembark passengers.

    This has affected the operation of international airlines as they resorted to disembarking passengers at the ramp.

    The source hinted that when power temporarily  restored, it caused damage to the facility, thereby rendering it unserviceable.

    FAAN’s spokesman Yakubu Dati confirmed the incident.

    He said: “There was a power outage from PHCN and the airport was on our independent power supply.

    “However, when power was restored, the surge adversely affected the k16 transformer that serves the Air-bridges and rendered them unserviceable. This adversely affected operations of departing flights. The heavy rainfall further delayed attempts by engineers to effect repairs immediately.

    “FAAN wishes to apologise to passengers, airlines and the public for the inconvenience caused by this development as efforts are being made to find a lasting solution.”

  • Oil price may rise on supply outage, China demand

    Supply outages and growing demand from China are likely to push price of crude oil up in the next few months, an energy analyst has said.

    Jefferies’ Jason Gammel told CNBC the oil market had swung from oversupply to undersupply in April thanks to disruptions in production in Nigeria and Alberta, Canada, taking around two million barrels per day out of the market.

    “I think with continued demand growth over the course of this year and continued declines in non-OPEC supply that we are already seeing in places like the United States, the market actually comes into much better balance by the end of the third quarter and that’s the stage for fundamental price recovery,” he told CNBC in London.

    As global crude output fell, demand from China — a massive consumer of energy — rose in April. Its crude imports reached eight million barrels a day, up 7.6 per cent from a year earlier, according to official Chinese data

    “In the case of China, what is encouraging is that their imports are still very high, because I really think that, from a supply-and-demand standpoint, you need to have strong Chinese demand growth in order for the market to become more balanced by the end of the year,” Gammel said.

    According to a UBS commodity strategists’, Brent crude will trade at around $49 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2016 and then rally further to average $55 through 2017.

    They added that a recovery in WTI oil prices to above $50 per barrel would incentivise renewed U.S. energy exploration and this projected increase in supply would limit price upside.

    Gammel agreed $50-plus prices would spur U.S. rigs back online, but said this increase would be insufficient to offset lower output from shale gas wells. “I think if the U.S. rig count doesn’t go above, let’s say, 500, that the U.S. production is going to continue to decline,” he added.

    Oil exploration in the U.S. is down 51. 7 percent, year-on-year, Baker Hughes reported last week in its widely eyed weekly report on North American drilling activity.

    The U.S. rotary rig count last week was down two at 404, Baker Hughes reported.That was 481 rigs down on last year and the lowest since Baker Hughes started counting rigs in 1949.

  • Power outage: Police arrest protesting youths

    The police in Ondo State have arrested 15 youths, who “protested” 13 months blackout in the southern senatorial district, which comprises six local governments.

    It was gathered that the youth are members of a group, National Revolutionary Vanguard (NRV).

    The group’s coordinator, Sayo Onukun, directed his members to stage a peaceful protest.

    As NRV members in Odigbo Local Government were preparing, some mobile policemen allegedly invaded their office in Ore and arrested some of them.

    The mobile policemen were led by CSP Adesina from the Ore Police Division.

    A police source said the arrested youths were cult members, who were out to disrupt the peace.

    They were later transferred to the Special-Anti Cultism section in Akure, the state capital, where they were “detained and tortured” before being released on bail.

    But Onukun said none of his members were cultists, addng that the police only acted in that manner to prevent the youth from protesting.

    However, NRV members from Okitipupa, Irele, Ilaje, Ese-Odo and Oke-Igbo were allowed to protest.

    The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions while singing solidarity and anti-government songs.

    Some of the placards read: “Osibodu restore our light”; Reverse the privatisation of NEPA now!”; “Enough is enough”; “People of the South are suffering”; “Where on earth do communities owe electricity bills?”;”10 months of blackout is hell” and “No to blackout in our land”.

    The youth blamed the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) for the blackout.

    They decried the hardship caused to their economic and social lives.

    The protesters noted that the electricity company claimed that the communities were cut off from the National Grid due to the alleged vandalisation of its infrastructures by miscreants.

    Last month, the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) said the communities owed over N1.9 billion.

    The Chief State Head, Edgar Earnestin, said the indebted communities would remain in blackout until they settled their debt.

    He explained that the money was part of the accumulated debt incurred from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

  • Way out of power outage and related challenges

    The Akoka Campus of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) enjoys 20-23 hours power supply, baring any electrical fault. The power situation is relatively stable and encouraging for learning, that students and residents are wondering if they are still living in Nigeria, or if they are living in a fantasy land. Power Holding Company of Nigeria is the major source of power supply to the school with support from giant generating sets. Sometimes ago, the university management published that it took a huge sum of money to maintain the generating sets. No serious organisation will wholeheartedly trust the power provided by PHCN, because of their incessant outages. Their excuses, of course, usually range from installation issues to shortage of gas supply, thereby keeping the whole school in the dark. As a response mechanism, management resorts to rationing power among faculties, halls of residence, leaving essential departments like the medical centre and study room to power their facilities with generating sets.

    The importance of power in an academic environment cannot be overemphasized, as there are many activities which are power dependent — from public address systems, projectors, to cooling systems such as fans and air conditioners. A university is not worth the name if it does not encourage research. This can only be realised when students and lecturers are provided with an enabling environment. And yet, in the final analysis, inventions and creativity are fuelled by electricity, a least, to a great extent.

    As a student with great potentiality just like many others, I advise management of federal schools to look inward by developing other sources of power such as wind, solar and waste as these will not only reduce the financial burden of maintaining generators, it will reduce noise pollution and promote a totally noiseless environment. It should encourage researchers to develop plausible means of generating suitable power supply that will power the entire campus. There is no doubt that harnessing other sources of power will provide adequate supply of electricity, thereby improving the standard of living on campus.

    If there is somewhere that should never have issue of power or that should not have generators and PHCN as itssole sources of power is the university campus. This is because,by all intent and purpose,continued research is a major activity of any learning environment. To a large extent, this goes to show our retrogressive move towards development especially as no nation develops without electricity. University management must, as a matter of urgency, devote quality attention towards contributing solutions to this nation’s myriad of power challenges instead of joining in consumption. President Buhari should empower universities by encouraging research projects that are energy driven as it will not only benefit these schools but the entire nation.

    Although the power condition is pretty stable now but the school must forestall a situation where the university is not put in perpetual darkness by PHCN as it can be unpredictable. The school management should be able to look inward as there are great minds waiting for the slightest opportunity to manifest their inventiveness. What they seek is maximum support. It is obvious that management has intention to reinvent other sources in order to boost its power capacity. All of these measures can be sped up to limit the extent of disappointment that will be occasioned byPHCN’s unannounced outage. Resources and strong will are two major constituents meant for the realisation of this laudable dream. It is common knowledge that today, most countries are going green and moving towards the rescue of the depleting ozone layer, thereby using less-harmful means to generate power. University of Lagos, the university of first choice and the nation’s pride, should be able to reposition and lead the entire nation in finding alternative power to drive research and real growth in our economy. The sun, the wind and waste are ever in abundant supply, which make the dream pretty realistic. Universities must take their rightful place in developmental strides of a nation, and government in turn, should be willing to empower them financially and constitutionally in order to truly set the pace. Recently attempts have been made to provide a few lecture theatres with inventers but their duration remains a puzzle yet to be resolved.

     

    Chima, 400-Level Philosophy, UNILAG

     

  • ‘Power outage in Okitipupa helping viewing centres’

    ‘Power outage in Okitipupa helping viewing centres’

    A three-week power outage in Okitipupa, Ondo State on Saturday made football fans to besiege viewing and relaxation centres for the Nigeria/Uruguay match at the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Golden Eaglets defeated the Uruguayans 2-0 in the match to qualify for the semi-finals of the competition holding in the UAE.

    A NAN correspondent who went round the city during the match reported that the residents flocked the centres in great numbers so as not to miss the game.

    Some operators of the centres, who spoke with NAN, said they made brisk business from the football fans that trooped to their centres.

    Mike Ezechukwu, a viewing centre operator, said he made more money because of the Eaglets’ match than when fans came to his centre because of European league matches.

    “I used to charge N150 before, but today (Saturday) I charged N250 and people paid, especially because it was the Eaglets’ match and the power failure in the town,’’ he said.

    Quadri Azeez, another viewing centre operator who congratulated Nigerians and the Eaglets on the victory, said he was sure of making more money during the semi-final match.

    Mrs Ayoka Ogunfunwa, who operates a relaxation centre, said many customers patronised her and she sold more alcoholic drinks than she used to sell before.

    “I was surprised to see many customers, but my son said it was because of the Nigeria/Uruguay match.

    “Although I always sell my drinks at the normal and lowest price, but this time I sold more and it was because of the match,’’ she said.

    Meanwhile, a cross-section of the football fans in the city has urged the Eaglets to continue in their fighting spirit.

    They also advised the team’s head coach, Manu Garba, to make changes when necessary for them to win the competition.

    Wasiu Aderibigbe, one of the fans who spoke to NAN, said he was very happy with the Eaglets’ victory, saying that the players exhibited good skills and team spirit.

    He then urged them to continue in the form for them to be victorious.

    “These Eaglets are good. I like their spirit and, if they continue like this, I believe they will win the competition,’’Aderibigbe said.

    Temitayo Akinkunwa also urged Garba to always make changes when necessary in subsequent matches, saying fatigue almost ruined the game against Uruguay for the Eaglets.

    NAN reports that the Eaglets, the only African country left in the competition, will now meet Sweden in the semi-finals, who they earlier drew 3-3 with.