Power Sector News and Other Related News Stories For Wednesday September 28th 2022
AEDC Decries Attack by Former Commissioner’s Son on Task Force in Niger
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has decried the attack on its task force on cash collection and meter monitoring by the family members of a former commissioner in Niger State who tried evading verification of his residence over the alleged installation of an illegal meter.
Condemning the incident, the AEDC Minna Regional Manager (RM), Engineer Mahmud Keni Ndaduma, said instead of paying the bill consumed, the family resorted to cutting corners to cover the actual cost.
According to him, “in the past couple of months power supply has improved in the state. I expect customers, including the state government parastatals, traditional rulers and owners of places of worship, to reciprocate. Instead, what we get are reports of attacks on staff”.
“Pay us to serve you better, we don’t intend to disconnect anybody, pay your bills in order to serve you better. Disconnection is our last option, and please don’t provoke us to disconnect you”.
Ndaduma also added, “I am not holding 100 percent trust in the field staff, but the company has its internal mechanism to deal with erring staff. We, therefore, appeal to customers to desist from patronizing saboteurs who would help them do ‘bypass’ that would only land them in trouble.”
Power Generation Slumps to 38MW
Data from the Federal Government on Tuesday indicated that the collapse of the national electricity grid that occurred the preceding day led to the crash in power generation from 3,713.1 megawatts to 38MW.
Industry figures obtained from the Federal Ministry of Power showed that power generation on the grid as at 6am on Monday was 3,713.1MW, but this plunged to 38MW around 10.51am.
The PUNCH had reported on Tuesday that Nigeria suffered another nationwide power outage on Monday morning after the national electricity grid collapsed for the seventh time in 2022.
Following the development, power consumer groups called for sanctions against operators or firms culpable of the incessant grid collapse that had characterised Nigeria’s electricity system since this year.
The report further stated that industry figures seen on Monday indicated that power generation on the grid had risen to a peak of 4,100.80 megawatts on Sunday. It dropped to 3,713.1MW at 6am on Monday.
https://punchng.com/power-generation-slumps-to-38mw/
Lagos Residents Arraigned for Beating Electricity Worker
The Lagos State Police Command on Tuesday arraigned two residents of Orile Oko-Oba, in the Agege area of the state before an Ogba Magistrate’s Court for allegedly assaulting an official of an electricity distribution company, Ikeja Electric.
The men were charged with four counts of assault and causing breach of public peace.
The charges read in part, “That you, Odewale Jamiu, Fatai Saheed, and others at large, on September 20, 2022, around 10.45am, at Oko-Oba Road, Agege, Lagos, in the Ikeja Magisterial District, did conduct yourselves in a manner likely to cause breach of the peace by engaging some Ikeja Electric staff while performing their lawful duty.
“That you, Odewale Jamiu, Fatai Saheed, and others at large, on the same date, time and place, in the aforementioned magisterial district, did assault one Omotosho Olugbenga a worker of Ikeja Electric, that led to the hospitalisation…”
The offences were said to be punishable under sections 168 (d), 413 (2), 173, 230 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
https://punchng.com/lagos-residents-arraigned-for-beating-electricity-worker/
Groups Demand Sanctions as Power Collapses Seventh Time
Nigeria experienced another nationwide power outage on Monday morning after the national electricity grid failed for the seventh time in 2022.Infomation Guide Nigeria
Following the development, power consumer groups called for sanctions against operators or firms responsible for the ongoing grid failures that have plagued Nigeria’s electricity system since this year.Jamb Result
According to industry figures released on Monday, power generation on the grid reached a high of 4,100.80 megawatts on Sunday. It fell to 3,713.1MW at 6 a.m. on Monday before plummeting to about 80MW later that day.
“This has resulted in the loss of supply currently being experienced across the network. Due to this development, all our interface TCN stations are out of supply, and we are unable to provide service to our customers in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states,” the Disco stated via a Twitter message.
https://infoguidenigeria.com/groups-demand-sanctions-as-power-collapses-seventh-time/
Reps Adjourn Plenary Over Power Failure
The House of Representatives adjourned plenary on Tuesday over an interruption of power in the lower chamber.
Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, was compelled to call for an adjournment after the power went out.
The situation forced the lawmakers to exit the chamber in darkness, using their phone torchlights.
This is coming a day after major cities in Nigeria including the commercial nerve centre Lagos and the nation’s political capital Abuja were thrown into a blackout as the national grid collapsed for the umpteenth time in 2022.
Various electricity distribution companies confirmed the development in statements directed to their customers.
Ikeja Electric said the national grid collapsed at 10:50 am on Monday, noting that “this has affected the transmission stations within our network and resulted in the loss of power supply to our customers.”
https://www.channelstv.com/2022/09/27/reps-adjourn-plenary-over-power-failure/
Like Nigeria, South Africa Wallow in Nationwide Electricity Blackout
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had an urgent meeting scheduled with his Cabinet on Wednesday to discuss the country’s electricity crisis which has led to unprecedented levels of nationwide power blackouts in Africa’s most developed economy.
The troubled state-owned power utility Eskom, which produces about 95% of the country’s electricity, is implementing scheduled, rolling blackouts in an attempt to save electricity while struggling to keep its ageing and poorly maintained coal-fired power stations operational.
Ramaphosa returned home to chair the meeting with his ministers after attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London. He canceled his trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
Eskom had started implementing Stage 6 power cuts, a level that means businesses and homes go without electricity for more than 10 hours a day. The company has since reduced the level to Stage 5, which requires South Africans to go without power for up to eight hours a day.
The blackouts are also affecting other government services, including water supplies in some areas as electric-powered pumps grind to a halt.
https://www.blueprint.ng/like-nigeria-south-africa-wallow-in-nationwide-electricity-blackout/
Cuba Without Electricity After Hurricane Hammers Power Grid
Hurricane Ian knocked out power across all of Cuba and devastated some of the country’s most important tobacco farms when it slammed into the island’s western tip as a major hurricane Tuesday.
Cuba’s Electric Union said in a statement that work was underway to gradually restore service to the country’s 11 million people during the night. Power was initially knocked out to about 1 million people in Cuba’s western provinces, but later the entire grid collapsed.
Ian hit a Cuba that has been struggling with an economic crisis and has faced frequent power outages in recent months. It made landfall as a Category 3 storm on the island’s western end, devastating Pinar del Río province, where much of the tobacco used for Cuba’s iconic cigars is grown.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated and others fled the area ahead of the arrival of Ian, which caused flooding, damaged houses and toppled trees. Authorities were still assessing the damage, although no fatalities had been reported by Tuesday night.
https://apnews.com/article/hurricanes-cuba-caribbean-hurricane-ian-080599db41b3e492d41e55046cb13c23
