BREAKING NEWS, Power
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For the next three weeks beginning from June 3, power generation will drop following the decision to shut down Utorogu and Ughelli East gas plants for routine maintenance
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Jun. 23, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
POWER supply in the country will experience a drastic drop in the next three weeks as the federal government on Tuesday, June 3, announced the shutdown of Utorogu and Ughelli East gas plants. Power generation which, before now, was about 3,674 megawatts, is expected to drop by about 1000 megawatts from stations receiving gas from the two gas plants, including Egbin and Omotosho.
Chinedu Nebo, minister of power, said the closure of the two gas plants was to ensure their proper maintenance. He said the closure of the gas plants would affect the output of power generation stations taking gas supplies from these plants. “I am publicising the planned closure for maintenance by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Corporation, NPDC, of its Utorogu and Ughelli East gas plants. This will, no doubt, have an impact on the output of the power stations fed by these gas plants, which include Egbin and Omotosho. The plants, to be shut for short periods of time, on different dates, will, inevitably result in temporary loss of generated power. This is regretted; but I assure you all that it will not last longer than the short period needed for the maintenance and re-commissioning work and our experts will be at work to ensure that available power is distributed in a manner to minimise inconvenience to consumers,” he said.
According to Nebo, adequate power supply has remained a focal point of the Goodluck Jonathan administration. This, he said, was constantly receiving priority attention for the purpose of justifying resources spent and meeting the yearnings of Nigerians and investors. “At the completion of this scheduled maintenance and upgrade, there will be improved gas production and quality from the plants, which will noticeably increase the output of the affected power plants and increase generated power. I, therefore, solicit the understanding, cooperation and support of all, for the duration of the gas plants’ shutdown, while regretting the inconvenience which it might cause to parts of the country where supply will be temporarily affected,” adding that “the installed capacities for Egbin, Omotosho I and Omotosho II power stations are put at 1,320MW, 336MW and 252MW. However, as of last week, the power stations were generating 550MW, 141MW and 105MW, respectively.”
Meanwhile, the federal government has urged states and local councils to assist in the ongoing campaign against vandalism of power infrastructure. Mohammed Wakil, minister of state for power, made the call while commissioning three transmission sub-stations recently completed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, in Kumbotso, Tamburawa and Kwanar Dangora, all in Kano state. He said it was the responsibility of all tiers of government to protect public assets, such as electricity assets from vandalism. He stressed that abiding by such collective responsibility should be the hallmark of good citizenry and responsible leadership.
“The government should be encouraged to spend scarce resources on improving and expanding the nation’s power infrastructure rather than replacing the vandalised ones. It makes more economic sense to do so than replacing vandalised assets. My appeal goes to the state government to urge the good people of Kano State to desist from encroaching on TCN’s Right of Way in order to prevent unnecessary deaths resulting from electrocution or other accidents arising from such encroachment.
“This is more so, as such encroachments hampers access to transmission infrastructure when there is need to work on them, with a view to rectifying the faults”, he added.
The minister described the commissioning of the sub stations as a significant milestone in the government’s efforts at improving power supply in Kano State and its environs. This is in realisation of the cosmopolitan nature of the state as the hub for commerce and economic activities,” he said.
Wakil explained that with the upgrade, the Kumbotso substation was capable of delivering more reliable and qualitative power up to 450MW to Kano metropolis, Kankia in Katsina State, and other towns in Jigawa State. The Tamburawa station will also improve power supply in Challawa, Madobi, Kwankwaso and Panshekara. “Additionally, the construction of Kwanar Dan Gora will facilitate more improvement in power supply to Kano Law School, Karaye and Tudun-wada, all in Kano State.”
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