Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe has assured Nigerians that electricity supply will begin to improve within 48 to 72 hours, following outages that have hit parts of the country.
In a statement titled “Update on Power Situation,” the minister blamed the disruption on maintenance work at the Egbin Power Station in Lagos, gas supply shortages and damage to transmission lines.
“I am aware of the strain that the current outages have placed on households and businesses in four affected states, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory,” he said.
Tegbe explained that Egbin, which supplies about 16 percent of the electricity on the national grid, had cut generation while undergoing maintenance. He added that gas shortages at some thermal power stations forced operators to introduce load shedding.
The minister also said sabotage of transmission lines had blocked alternative supply routes, particularly in Lagos.
“My team and I are working to return the affected generating units to service in phases, with the first units coming back online within the next 48 to 72 hours,” he said.
“We are also working with operators to improve gas supply and accelerate repairs to the damaged infrastructure.”
The assurance follows complaints from consumers in Lagos, Ogun and other states over prolonged blackouts.
The outages have also triggered a disagreement between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Ikeja Electric.
On Friday, TCN rejected Ikeja Electric’s claim that grid instability caused the interruptions recorded on November 3 and 4. The transmission company blamed the outages mainly on inadequate gas supply and reduced hydroelectric generation, adding that it can only transmit the electricity made available by generating companies.
Ikeja Electric had earlier apologised to customers on some Band A feeders for failing to deliver the required minimum of 20 hours of daily supply.
Tegbe said the government would continue to work with power sector operators to restore supply and keep affected consumers informed.
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