Power outages: Minister promises return of affected units within 72 hours

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has said affected generating units will return to service within 72 hours, as the Federal Government works to address ongoing electricity outages in four states, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory. Tegbe attributed the power disruptions to planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station, gas supply constraints to some thermal power plants and the sabotage of key transmission lines.

The minister disclosed this in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Friday, acknowledging the difficulties the outages had caused households and businesses in the affected states. “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,” he said. “Sabotage of key transmission lines has also restricted the use of alternative routes to supply some locations, especially Lagos,” he said.

The minister said the ministry was working with relevant operators to restore the affected generating units, improve gas supply to power plants and accelerate repairs to 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 added.

He apologised to affected households and businesses, promising further updates as efforts to improve electricity supply progress. The development, which has resulted in significant load shedding, also triggered a disagreement between the TCN and Ikeja Electric over the causes of the current power supply challenges. “TCN can only transmit the energy made available to it and cannot transmit energy that is not generated,” the company said.