Discos lament low power allocation

Electricity utility firms otherwise known as the DisCos have bemoaned low power supply from generating companies, which has led to load shedding.

The country has been experiencing low power supply for some weeks, with many areas getting electricity supply for only an hour per day.

The DisCos have blamed GenCos for the significant drop in electricity.

A statement from Ikeja Electric over the weekend said it has been shedding load as a result of low power allocation

"We apologise for the current power supply you have been experiencing in certain parts of our network lately. This is due to the inadequate allocation received, hence the load shedding

"We regret the inconvenience this has caused and wish to assure you that we are engaging the responsible stakeholders in the electricity value chain to improve the situation," Ikeja Electric said in a note to its customers.

Eko Electricity Development Company also apologised to its customers in Lagos and Ogun States, saying the irregular power supply being experienced was due to reduced load capacity from the National Grid

The General Manager of the Corporate Communication Department, EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, said that the outage affected some customers in some parts of Badagry in Lagos State and Agbara in Ogun State under the Agbara District of the company.

He, however, assured the residents that normalcy would be restored to the affected communities as soon as the capacity was increased.

"What we are presently getting from the grid is not enough to meet the demand of our customers.

"At the same time, this is to notify our esteemed customers in Lagos Island of an impending maintenance work scheduled for Sunday, January 22, between 9.00 am-1.00 pm.

"This maintenance work will require the Fowler injection substation to be temporarily shut down. So, Ikoyi and the environs under Island District will be out of supply during the period of the outage. We are, therefore, appealing to customers to bear with us.

"EKEDC highly regrets any inconveniences caused by this irregular supply," he said

The PUNCH also saw a similar circular from the Kano Electricity Distribution Company, where the firm blamed the low supply on the GenCos.

"This is to kindly inform our esteemed customers that the low power supply currently being experienced across our franchise is due to low power generation nationwide.

"Consequently, the load allocation to KEDCO has drastically reduced and is barely adequate to supply all our customers, thus the massive load shedding," the firm said.

The spokesperson for the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Ndidi Mbah, told The PUNCH on Sunday that the national grid has the capacity to transmit all that is generated by the GenCos.

According to her, whatever was transmitted to the DisCos was a result of what TCN got from the GenCos.

"Generation determines allocation. This is done in line with specified criteria to ensure a balanced grid. By virtue of our role in the value chain, we are bulk transporters of energy. We cannot transport beyond what is generated.

"Our capability is 8,100MW as of date, so we have the capacity to transmit all that is generated," she said.

The spokesperson for the GenCos, Joy Ogaji declined to respond to The PUNCH'senquiries on the reason for low power generation.

Attempts to also reach the executive secretary of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, did not was failed.

The spokesperson for the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Usman Abba Arabi, did not respond to questions sent to him via WhatsApp on what the commission was doing to boost e power generation and supply restored, neither did he answer his calls when our correspondent reached out to him through the phone.