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Power generation drops by 450MW

By on November 26, 2013

Electricity generation has dropped by 450 megawatts, the Transmission Company of Nigeria has said.

The firm said the drop on Saturday was due to vandalism of pipelines supplying gas to the Okpai Power Plant in Delta State.

The plant, it said, was shut down as a result of the reported vandalism, adding that the development would warrant power rationing across the country for four days.

The firm said in a statement signed by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Seun Olagunju, that repair works on the plant were expected to be completed within three days.

“Okpai Power Plant will expectedly resume generation on Wednesday, November 27, 2013,” it said.

A senior official from the Ministry of Power told our correspondent on Sunday that fluctuations in power generation might persist for a while because the new power firms owners’ were still settling down to manage the sector.

The official, who did not want to be named, explained that although the recent drop in generation was due to gas pipeline vandalism, most of the investors had yet to fully comprehend how the system works.

The official said, “We may continue to experience a drop in power and this will lead to poor supply in some areas because the investors are still in the process of knowing how to efficiently run the business. This may take time, but in due course, things will take shape.”

Despite the takeover of power firms by private investors since November 1, 2013, the country has continued to experience poor electricity supply.

Although the investors have explained that development in the sector would take time, electricity consumers are expecting a quick positive transformation in the power business.

Last week, residents in various states complained that power supply across the country had remained poor. They described this as a source of worry because they expected a steady improvement of the situation with the entry of the private investors.

The Presidential Task Force on Power put the power generation at 3,600.90MW as of November 20, 2013.

 

 

[Punch]