The steady slump in power generation reached all-time low in the past two weeks in the Lagos area where the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) is struggling to supply a trickle 200 megawatts of electricity. This has plunged the entire area into darkness and there is little hope of improvement in the immediate future. Lagos is the economic nerve centre of the nation.
The multiplier effect of the dismal power output impacts negatively on the economy. The entire gamut of industrial production and businesses has been grounded due to massive load shedding. There is palpable anger and frustration among the citizenry even as the weather is getting hot. Whatever is the reason behind the acute situation should be rectified immediately.
As usual, the PHCN has attributed the current flop to a massive cut in gas supply to the Egbin Thermal Transmitting station in Ikorodu. The Egbin power plant is PHCN’s biggest thermal power station. The plant has six generating units and an installed capacity of 3,220 mw. It has the capacity to supply power to meet minimum national demand. According to the PHCN, output dropped to 900 mw and then to 600 mw before the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) directed it to further go down to 300 mw. But reports indicate that the station is struggling to generate only 200 mw!
The NGC gets its stock from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). Shell claims that its plant at Utorogu, Delta State has been shut down due to youth restiveness, which in turn affects the supply of gas to the Egbin power plant. But this argument is untenable because the PHCN has scarcely performed beyond the present level even without youth restiveness in the Niger Delta.
We are worried that the agencies involved in the supply of gas are fond of passing the buck to hide their inefficiency. For instance, the PHCN would always find one reason or another to explain away its failure to deliver. At one time it is youth restiveness in the Niger Delta at another time it is vandalisation of its cables. Yet at another time it is low water level especially now that we are entering the dry season. This has been the recurrent, ugly trend.
It is hard to understand how a country with abundant gas resource cannot harness it to meet its basic needs. Even in countries where there are no gas resources, power supply does not pose the kind of problem it does in Nigeria. What would happen if the conflict in the Niger Delta persists? Would the nation remain in darkness until the matter is resolved? On the other hand, suppose we have no gas resource, won’t there be electricity in the country? Where lies PHCN’s technical ingenuity in this business of power supply?
Undoubtedly, our electricity generation has collapsed even as its machinery is primitive. The PHCN structure as it is presently constituted can hardly give this nation adequate power supply beyond its current level. Nigerians are groaning under the hardship of incessant power blackout. The story is the same all over the federation. Many parts of the country hardly receive power cumulatively for 7 days in a month. Major industrial concerns have completely renounced public power supply. Small and medium scale businesses are strangulated. The economy is running on generators. The increased cost of doing business is passed on to consumers.
The Obasanjo administration set a target of generating 10,000 mw up from 3,000 mw when it assumed power in 1999. In pursuit of this objective, Government has spent staggering amounts of money to resuscitate the power sector without success.. From 3,000 mw in 1999, power generation has dropped to less than 2,000mw. The privatisation exercise recently effected in the PHCN has not helped matters. Things are getting even worse. The collapse of the power supply sub-sector remains a dark spot for the nation.
Ironically, amidst this ugly situation, electricity charges have gone up by over 300 per cent. Consumers question the rationale of paying for services not rendered by PHCN. Some PHCN field officers regularly harrass citizens and extort unauthorised payment. PHCN is fleecing consumers every where. The public is bemoaning the illegal practice whereby PHCN bills are estimated instead of relying on actual meter reading. Thus, consumers are forced to pay 300 per cent more than what they actually consume. This is just one aspect of the rip off. In other cases, some unscrupulous PHCN field officers disconnect people’s electricity supply at will, and they collect illegal re-connection fees. In all these corrupt practices, electricity consumers are unprotected. In other climes, consumers associations would insist on improved services and kick against exploitation.
Certainly, the energy crisis has gone out of hand. All attempts to correct the situation have so far failed. PHCN is down on its knees. When this malaise will end is a matter of conjecture. Now, power generation has resurfaced as a political campaign issue as elections are around the corner.
As it is, the incoming government should tackle the problem of power supply as a major priority. Government’s claim of building a number of power generating plants in parts of the country should be revisited. There appears to be no timetable for the completion of these projects. Nigerians expect that the concerned authorities will redouble efforts to make electricity supply more regular.