Electricity Supply to Improve Within 72 Hours – Minister

Electricity supply in parts of Nigeria is expected to improve within 48 to 72 hours as the government works to address generation and transmission constraints behind recent outages, Power Minister Joseph Tegbe said.

Tegbe credited the shortfall to planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station in Lagos, which he described as Nigeria’s largest thermal power plant and said accounts for about 16 percent of electricity supplied to the national grid.

In a statement posted on Facebook on Friday, the minister said gas supply constraints at some thermal power stations had further reduced available electricity, forcing grid operators to introduce load shedding.

“I am aware of the strain that the current outages have placed on households and businesses in four affected states, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory,” he said.

“Planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station and constraints in gas supply to some thermal power stations have reduced the amount of electricity available on the national grid. Grid operators have, therefore, implemented load shedding in some areas to manage the shortfall.”

Tegbe also blamed the sabotage of critical transmission lines for limiting alternative routes for electricity supply, particularly to Lagos.

He said the government was working with power sector operators to restore generating units, improve gas supply and repair damaged infrastructure.

“My team and I are working to return the affected generating units to service in phases, with the first units coming back online within the next 48 to 72 hours,” he said.

“We are also working with operators to improve gas supply and accelerate repairs to the damaged infrastructure.”

The minister’s assurance comes amid complaints from electricity consumers in Lagos and Ogun states over prolonged blackouts, which residents say have been worsened by hot weather. Meanwhile, the outages have also led to a dispute between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Ikeja Electric over their causes.