Abuja — Consumers under the aegis of the Nigerian Consumers Protection Network (NCPN) and the Network for Electricity Consumers Advocacy of Nigeria (NECAN) have urged power sector operators in the country to work harder towards sustainably increasing stable power supply to Nigerians.
Their appeal came following an announcement by the Transmission Commission Company of Nigeria (TCN) that it had transmitted an all-time peak of 5,801.60MW on Monday, March 1, 2021.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP on this development, the president of NCPN, Mr Kunle Olubiyo said the figures of peak being announced from time to time are not acceptable because “the peaks are not sustainable and do not translate to sustainable improvement in electricity supply to justify the 100 to 120 per cent increase in tariff.”
He said the crux of the matter is that the grid and distribution infrastructures are obsolete to render and sustain any improved service.
“We cannot continue to celebrate a peak that occurs in a flash and before you know it has gone down,” he said.
Also speaking, the secretary of NECAN, Uket Obanga, who corroborated Olubiyo’s position on the matter said the problem in the sector is not about generation, but about the infrastructure decay at the transmission and distribution levels of the value chain, adding that some of the facilities put in place in the 50s, 60s, and 70s are still there even as they have become too weak to serve.
“Are you not aware that the Abuja-Kaduna transmission line cannot carry all the percentage of load due to Kaduna DisCo?,” he asked.
According to a statement issued by TCN, the latest peak whose value is higher than the 5,615.40MW recorded on February 28, 2021, by 186.20MW, was transmitted at a frequency of 50.09Hz.
TCN managing director Engr Sule Abdulaziz said “The consistent increase in the peak generation was due to synergy among power sector participants and concerted efforts by TCN to ensure that all generated power is wheeled to distribution load centers nationwide.” He promised to ensure completion of all ongoing projects and execution of new ones with a view to putting up a robust grid network in defiance of the various challenges plaguing the sector.
