We want power, not buck-passing

The Federal Ministry of Power has said that the long hours of nationwide power outage in recent weeks was caused by a drop in power generation to about 3,659 Mega Watts (MW). Nine power generating stations across the country have been completely or partly shut down due to gas shortages, forcing the national grid to […]

The Federal Ministry of Power has said that the long hours of nationwide power outage in recent weeks was caused by a drop in power generation to about 3,659 Mega Watts (MW). Nine power generating stations across the country have been completely or partly shut down due to gas shortages, forcing the national grid to shut-in 2,044 MW of electricity. This situation has worsened the already abysmal state of electricity supply in the country, leaving consumers wondering what to expect next from the troubled power sector.
Olorunshogo National Integrated Power Plant (NIPP) shut-in 600MW; Sapele NIPP shut-in 112.5MW; Omotosho (Gas) shut-in 190MW; Geregu NIPP shut-in 145MW; Delta shut-in 340MW; Omotosho NIPP shut-in 120MW; Egbin shut-in 440MW and Olorunshogo (Gas) shut-in 38MW, all due to shortage of gas supply. Odukpani on the other hand shut-in 59.1MW due to water constraints. Power supply has actually fallen below 10 hours in major cities and is down to zero hours in other areas.
Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) have denied allegations that they orchestrated the current power shortage in order to thwart attempts to force them to roll back the new electricity tariff regime. They attributed the problem instead to a drop in power generation. Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) Sunday Olurotimi Oduatan said the companies could not have been responsible for the alleged sabotage because it impacts negatively upon their revenues. He instead attributed the drop in power generation to pipeline vandalism.
Head, Corporate Communications of Eko Electricity Distribution Plc (EKEDP) Idemudia Godwin also said that the unstable power supply was partly due to the inadequate bulk electricity load allocation to the company from the national grid. This, according to him, arose from a drop in the national generation level as a result of incessant acts of vandalism on gas pipelines and transmission towers. The situation led to acute power rationing in all parts of the country, he said.
It would be recalled that the national electricity grid attained a peak of 5,074MW on February 3, 2016 shortly after an increase in tariffs was announced by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Labour unions quickly took to the streets to protest the new tariff hike and the Senate ordered a halt on its implementation. However, DISCOs under the aegis of ANED said suspending the new tariff could throw the nation into darkness, which soon happened. It therefore looked like a case of the witch cried and the child died. 
Putting all claims and counter claims between the NERC and the distribution companies into context, the argument by DISCOs that links the drop in national grid to shortage of gas supply which also was occasioned by pipeline vandalism sounds more convincing than the allegation by NERC which links power shortages to sabotage by distribution companies.
Instead of trading blames, the federal government should take responsibility for not providing enough security that should have forestalled vandalisation of oil facilities by militants in the Niger Delta region. Ever since the pipeline security contract awarded to former militant leader Tompolo was revoked, the federal government should have launched a synergized task force involving the military, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and the police to provide coordinated surveillance on oil pipelines and other installations.
Although President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has since its inception been preoccupied with tackling critical problems confronting the country such as Boko Haram insurgency, crash of crude oil prices and the fall of the naira, these are not enough reasons for it to turn a blind eye to the epileptic power supply situation in the country. One of Nigerians’ biggest expectations from this government is to see a major improvement in public power supply. This is crucial to all economic revival efforts. What we are witnessing instead is a sharp deterioration with the same lame excuses and the same buck-passing. We don’t want any more buck-passing. We want improved power supply now.