In a bid to revive the power sector, Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola, has said that he will do all in his power to end the epileptic power supply which has bedevilled the nation for years.
He stated this when asked by newsmen whether there would be an end to the epileptic power supply situation in the country, the minister noted that he has been briefed “in papers, files and memos” since he assumed office, and has taken it upon himself to go round the country and have an on the spot assessment of the situation.
Fashola also noted that what he had seen so far in his tours have given him hope that the country’s epileptic power situation can be resolved.
“This problem can be solved, it is a problem that has challenged us for a long time, not only am I going around to understand the situation, am at Ugwuaji now in Enugu, I’m going around to understand what I’m supposed to manage, I’ve been briefed in papers, in files and in memo, am going from power plants to power plants, from transmission sites to transmission sites, what I see convinces me that this problem can be solved, I’m optimistic that it can be solved, it just needs for us as a people to understand the system better and know how it works.
.“I am going to be dedicating my time to breaking down all technical issues that have been sounding so heavy over decades so that the average Nigerian can understand how the system works. Our people must know that if people break down pipelines, you know that you are breaking the system, no matter how angry you are, a broken pipeline is going to affect you because you won’t have power, if people feel that the best way to secure employment for their colleagues in the union is to shut down the power plants, the truth is that they are going to hurt more people than the people they seek to protect.
“If people think that if there is a restructuring going on in any government agency, and they fear that most of their colleagues will lose work and the answer is to shut down gas stations, the truth is that more people that they seek to protect would be hurt than those they want their jobs secured, for me everybody must understand how your action or inaction affects the system, once this is done, I think I see a better tomorrow clearly,” he noted.
Some of the reasons which have been given for the poor power supply which the country experiences often is Gas shortages. According to reports, gas supplies to the Gencos cut drastically due to pipeline vandalisation. Without gas the Gencos cannot generate power supply to the Discos which the latter cannot distribute to consumers.
Another reason attributed to the drop in power supply are the bad transmission lines we have in the country. The transmission company of Nigeria evacuates power supply generated by the Gencos and then transmits to the Discos who then step it down and distribute to consumers. According to some Discos, Transmission networks around the country have several faulty transformers and high tension cables which takes weeks and sometimes month’s to repair leading to erratic power supplies in areas where the faults are concentrated in.
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