FG Apologises to Nigerians over Poor Electricity Supply

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government has apologised to Nigerians over the poor electricity supply being experienced by them at the moment.

The Minister of Power, Mr Mamma Sale, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr Aaron Artimas, said efforts are being made to improve the supply.

He explained that the situation was caused by the breakdown in 13 power generation plants across the country, but assured that engineers were doing everything possible to rectify the issue.

Mr Sale said the faulty power plants affected some National Integrated Power Plants (NIPP) supplying electricity to the national grid.

It was gathered that the Geregu, Sepele, Omotosho, Gbarain, Omuku, Paras and Alaoji integrated power plants are experiencing gas constraints, while the Shiroro plant is experiencing water management issues.

According to reports, the Egbin, Afam, Ibom, Sapele, Ihovbor, Olonrunsogo, Alaoji and Omotosho power plants are down, while the Jebba power plant is currently undergoing annual maintenance.

But Mr Mamman assured that the national grid would be restored to its previous historic distribution peak of about 5,600MW of electricity achieved early this year, so as to relief Nigerians from the current harsh climatic conditions and restore full economic activities.

“The Ministry of Power is not unaware of the current power outages/shortages bedevilling many parts of the country. This unfortunate development has drastically affected Power generation, thus effectively minimizing the national grid.

“In view of this, the Hon Minister of Power, Mr Sale Mamman, regrets this unfortunate situation and offers his sincere apology to all affected Nigerians on the inconveniences the power shortages are causing.

“He assures that the ministry through the appropriate agencies is working assiduously to rectify the technical problems affecting the plants as well as resolving the gas issues to the others,” the statement from Mr Artimas said.

The power situation in the country has been horrible lately, especially in a period the weather has been hot, forcing some residents to run power generating sets.