Tuesday, 19th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Lagos suffer shortfall of electricity supply

By Roseline Okere
10 March 2017   |   5:51 am
Lagos State is expected to witness more shortfalls in power supply due to the inability of Egbin Power Plant to generate enough electricity in the state.

Electricity Pole. PHOTO:csiro.au

Ikeja Electric to cut power for one month
Lagos State is expected to witness more shortfalls in power supply due to the inability of Egbin Power Plant to generate enough electricity in the state.

According to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), due to insufficient gas at Egbin, only two units are fired and these could not generate enough Volt-Ampere Reactive (VARs) to meet up with the voltage requirements in the area hence the manifestation of the low voltage.

It noted that as it stands, Egbin daily average generation is just 350 Megawatts (MW), while the Lagos daily average consumption from the grid in recent times is 1,100 MW.

Besides, Ikeja Electric said that there will be disruption of power supply to certain areas under its network, due to†planned outage resulting from the maintenance work being carried out by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on its transformers at the Ikeja West Transmission Station.

The areas to be affected by the exercise, which commenced on March 6th and end on Tuesday, April 4, 2017, include Ojodu, Magodo, Alausa, Oke-Afa, Bolorunpelu, Egbe, Igando, Shasha, Ipaja, Alimosho, Agege, Egbeda and Abesan.

Others are Ayetoro, Abule-Taylor, Ogba, Ifako, Shomolu, Gbagada, Oworonshoki, Ogudu, Isheri-Olowora, Berger, Anthony, Otta and environs. Spokesperson for Ikeja Electricity, Head, Felix Ofulue, appealed to residents of the affected areas to bear with the company while emphasising on the importance of the maintenance as a necessity for improved power supply and better service delivery.

He further explained that a load-shedding programme to ensure equitable distribution of power supply to the affected areas have been put in place by the company.

Explaining reasons behind the drop in voltage in Lagos area, TCN said in a statement that at least, 800MW has to be imported from other parts of the grid to meet its power demand.

It explained: ìIn all Power Systems, voltage is a localized issue, while voltage may be low at heavily loaded points of the system, it can simultaneously be high at another point where the same system is lightly loaded. (

Under the Nigeria grid, the Operational Procedure stipulates that the acceptable limits of the nominal value of our highest voltage in the grid, which is 330kV ranges between +5 per cent and -15 per cent of the nominal i.e 346.5kV and 280.5kV .

The voltage problem in Lagos is as a result of inadequate generation from Egbin Power Station sequel to gas inadequacy. Egbin, with a capacity of 1,320 MW came into existence to cater for Lagos load, which is a commercial Centre (heavy loaded area) and to simultaneously improve the voltage in that axis of the grid.

Group Leader, Generation at Sahara Power Group, Michael Uzoigwe, said gas, which is abundant in Nigeria and produced in-country is being sold to generation companies in dollars, which he described as unsustainable due to the current exchange rate policy.

He warned that GENCOs and DISCOs cannot break even based on the current price of gas, adding that these companies were also battling with the price of spare parts which are being imported into the country.
ìGas is being sold to generation companies in dollar and these companies cannot break even with the current dollar price couple with the scarcity of foreign exchangeî.

Speaking on the need to observe all safety codes and regulations especially during the rainy season, Ofulue stressed the need for heightened awareness on safety measures during the rainy season is due to the hazard that the mix of electricity and water poses.

He advised members of the public to avoid conditions that can compromise their safety around electricity, such as using wet electrical appliances; stepping in puddles of potentially charged water, coming in contact with exposed electrical wires, among others, as such actions may have fatal results.

He also warned customers to be mindful of streetlights within the Lagos metropolis as fatal cases have been reported in the past where road users unfortunately come in contact with exposed energized wires connected to the streetlight.

Ofulue called on residents within the companyís network coverage area to also be mindful of snapped power cables and fallen poles, incidents which can occur during heavy rainfall. He said that wherever such incidents occured, residents should call the companyís Customer Care help lines or through the companyís social media handles immediately, while maintaining a safe distance from the point of the accident.

In this article

0 Comments