Families, Businesses Suffer as Power Supply Deteriorates

For weeks, the already bad power supply situation in the country has further deteriorated. Emmanuel Addeh writes that as the worsening state of affairs continue to persist, Nigerians, both rich and poor are bearing the brunt in diverse ways

To say that power supply in Nigeria is in a parlous state would be just expressing the obvious. Although Nigeria’s electricity supply crisis is not a recent development, what is different now is the scale of blackouts nationwide.

This has been further exacerbated by the fact that the ready alternatives in the past, like diesel and petrol, used in powering generators in homes and offices are hardly available these days due to multiplicity of factors.

The Perfect Storm

The latest prolonged darkness all over the country has been caused by a number of factors, mostly due to the absence of foresightedness, lack of planning, general chaos in the power sector and maybe, the little “beyond our control” part.

From waning gas supply resulting from problematic contracts, to gas supply chain disruption due to vandalism and then drop in hydropower plants water supply, the issues are multifarious.

Aside the aforementioned, there’s also the debts owed the Generation Companies (Gencos) and of course the double collapse of the national grid in 24 hours, creating the perfect storm for the sector.

Cacophony of Reasons

However, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) insists that the worsening power situation in the country was caused mainly by the vandalism of the country’s gas supply assets.

Chairman of the Commission, Sanusi Garba, noted that the country lost at least 1,000 megawatts to the challenge, but dismissed the position expounded by the Executive Secretary of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), Dr Joy Ogaji,  that Gencos were unable to make more power available because they were owed N1.64 trillion.

He stated that although the Gencos were owed legacy debts, those indebtedness had nothing to do with their current operations, maintaining that if at all there had been temporary delays in payment in the normal course of business, it shouldn’t lead to the generators stopping business for any reason.

Furthermore, Garba noted that whereas the thermal plants which supply 80 per cent of the country’s electricity was supposed to buffer the fall in generation from the hydro plants in the past, due to water management issues, they have not been able to do so this year, due to the inability of gas companies to supply the commodity.

“The reality is that normally at this time of year when generation in the hydro plants are down, the gas plants which currently contribute about 80 per cent of the generation capacity, will ramp up to cover the shortfall in generation of hydros.

“Unfortunately, at this time of the year when the gas plants are supposed to improve generation, we have had a number of multiple events that contributed to their lack of capacity to deliver on the shortfall of generation,” he disclosed.

But the Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) Plc, Dr Nnaemeka Ewelukwa, said that NBET had settled the power Gencos to the tune of approximately N3.5 trillion from the total invoices of N4 trillion issued by the electricity generators.

Through NBET, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up by the federal government to act as intermediary between power generators and distributors, Ewelukwa noted, close to 90 per cent of the total indebtedness had been offset. This, he said should be able to keep the Gencos afloat.

“To be very clear, the indebtedness is about one third of that (N1.64 trillion). The government like I said, through NBET has paid close to 90 per cent of what is owed generation companies. So the current debt, just to be clear, is about one third of that.  That’s about N555 billion, excluding interest,” he argued.

Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr Sule Abdulaziz, admitted that there have been some issues with the grid, attributable to the fact that “most of the generation stations that are generating light have one issue or the other.”

“Most of the issues are related to the lack of gas. Some of the units out there have no gas to put them on. Some are on general maintenance, whereas we have one or two issues of vandalism.

“A line was vandalised and we lost three units at Okpai. So all these contributed to the number of megawatts that are coming to the grid. For almost two, three years in this country, what we normally have every day is around 5,000 megawatts. Sometimes it will go down to 4,000 megawatts or 3,500 megawatts.

 “But with this situation we are in now, the megawatts have run down to almost 3,000 megawatts and 3,000+ megawatts.

“Now the grid is very fragile. It cannot stand all these changes. And unfortunately on Monday, we had system disturbances, meaning that the grid went down. The same thing happened on Tuesday,” he stated.

Struggling Grid

Throughput last week Nigeria’s power grid continued to struggle, hitting another downtime , barely 24 hours after it witnessed a similar system collapse, thereby worsening the nationwide blackout. Usually, the grid suffers collapse when there’s no alignment between generation, wheeling or transmission and distribution.

In one fell swoop, generation dropped from 3,000 megawatts earlier to 1,758 megawatts, leaving just 12 Gencos in operation out of the possible 25. This happened a day after the national  power grid  had earlier collapsed on Monday, causing a  nationwide outage after a loss of 1,100 megawatts from a 3,700MW peak generation earlier recorded.

Furthermore, an analysis of the 12 power plants operating before the grid system collapsed indicated that they only generated 1,758MW before the system went off.

Blackouts Weigh on Estate Residents

As it is, the problem has already started telling on even the middle class which ordinarily could afford their basic needs without qualms. Their estate managers are demanding more and tensions may soon heighten.

In one of such places in Abuja, the managers have started adjusting for the funding of alternatives to the traditional power supply system, even as diesel prices skyrocket and petrol scarcity prevails.

An Assistant Facility Manager at Apo 2 Estate, in the capital city, Adams Abubakar, in a letter to residents of the estate, noted that according to ability to afford it, the residents should either pay for 14 hours alternative power supply or sign up for the 24 hour-supply which will come  at a higher rate.

“We wish to inform you that based on calls and messages received from residents of both estates, we have more residents who have agreed to sign up for the 14-hour generator running time. Therefore, we shall run the generators from 6:00pm – 8:00am daily only when there is no power supply to the estate from AEDC.

“A diesel deposit in the sum of N100,000.00 would therefore be required from residents who signed up for the 14 hour option.

“Residents who have requested for 24 hour generator running hours are required to make a diesel deposit in the sum of N150,000.00. However, it should be noted that we would require a minimum number of 35 residents and maximum of 70 residents to sign up for the 24 hour option.

“All residents who have decided to opt out of the generator services are expected to pay a flat rate of N20,000.00 for generator powering of the common areas.

“For us to meet up with diesel purchases, it is expected that all residents must pay their deposits as and when due. The records of cost of diesel and diesel purchases will be communicated as usual,” the manager stressed.

According to him, at any point in time the diesel cost increases or reduces, a review of the cost for the generator running hours will be conducted.

A separate letter relayed by the facilities managers at Brains and Hammers, also in Abuja, appealed to residents to back up any of the supply options with payment of the allocated amount.

“Please in the spirit of togetherness let us try and pay our dues to prevent any inconveniences,” the managers pleaded.

THISDAY learnt that while those staying in the estate were paying N50,000 per month for diesel for 24 hours before now, but presently they are expected to  pay N150,000.

In Victoria Bay 3 Estate, Lekki, Lagos, those in charge of the estate, THISDAY gathered, have also alerted residents to an increase in the cost of electricity dues to rising diesel prices.

“Sequel to the engagements with the estate’s executive committee in regards to the need for an increase in cost of power tariff, the management of Dream Court Facility Management Company Ltd would be increasing the electricity tariff to N158 (all inclusive) rate per kilowatt hour effective tomorrow Wednesday 16th March, 2022.

“The current tariff of N99 was computed in August 2021 when the price of diesel was at about N300 per litre and EKEDC tariff was at N52.81 (Vat exclusive).

“ However, EKEDC has increased tariff per kilowatt effective September, 2021 from N52.81 to N54.81 (Vat exclusive) and the cost of diesel today has skyrocketed from N300 per litre in August, 2021 to N750 per litre as at today 15th,” the letter stated.

TCN and the Blame Game

In attempting to explain the worsening situation,  a statement signed by the General Manager, Public Affairs, TCN, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, accused the Gencos of not generating enough electricity to be transmitted by the company.

TCN notified its customers that the current load shedding being experienced nationwide was as a result of very low power generation made available by the Gencos for wheeling through the transmission grid to Distribution Companies (Discos) nationwide.

The company noted that presently,  the cumulative generation nationwide is low and generation companies have attributed this to several factors including poor gas supply.

Other challenges, it stressed, include low generating units of generating companies, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, all of which have caused most power generating companies to limit their generation, and sometimes not  generate at all.

A summary of the power generating profiles in the last two months, for instance, the statement said, clearly shows that 14 gas-powered generating stations were either not generating at all or had limited generation at various times within the period, further depleting the quantum of power generation available for transmission into the grid on a daily basis.

TCN stated that except cumulative power generation increases considerably for it to transmit to distribution companies nationwide, it will be left with no choice than to continue to shed load.

 Killing Them Softly!

From Abuja to Lagos, Calabar, Ondo to Zamfara, the stories of pain to individual families and businesses caused by the prevailing blackout has been the same, especially with the unbearable heat waves.

 Added to that, in the not so distant past, entire families have been wiped out by the wrong use of generating sets in Nigeria. Many of the families have been impacted by the inhalation of carbon emissions, leading to instant deaths.

Even in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its environs, where people expect some form of stability in electricity supply, residents have been complaining over the worsening electricity supply.

Coupled with the atmospheric temperature, the situation has become increasingly intolerable, with the rains hardly intervening to soften the harsh weather in most parts of the country.

Small shop owners in the Lugbe area of Abuja, for instance,  say that beside having to contend with the unbearable heat at home without electricity, they now have to live with making less sales.

Elizabeth Ochayi, who sells ice drinks has lost her source of livelihood since the development started.. Even to fuel her small  generator has been a problem since she’s hardly able to access petrol.

She said: “The power supply situation in Lugbe presently is pathetic. Before now, we could have electricity supply for up to 18, 20 hours per day, but now it is terrible to the extent that sometimes we don’t have for days,”

Besides, residents have complained that despite the blackouts, the power distributors have continued to issue crazy bills, without justification.

A resident of Warri, Delta State, Mrs Jane Okorodudu, who lamented the depreciating level of power supply in the city, stated that apart from her cold room business that has continued to suffer, finding sleep in the night because of the heat wave has been difficult.

“ For the past one month, it has been especially bad. In Jakpa road for example, it is so bad that we have not seen light in the last two weeks. My friend is a tailor in the area. Now, she has to run generators throughout the day. And customers are not ready to pay more for services rendered and problems with her customers have been brewing.

In my kind of business, which is running of a cold room, it has been horrible. We can’t even bring in new stock because there’s no light. To have frozen fish, you have to have days of consistent power supply. So, it’s affecting sales.

“Even buyers are complaining because they too in their restaurants and bars, their customers are complaining. There’s no money, no fuel, no electricity, nothing. So, once you have your business capital complete these days, you need to thank God,” she stated.

The Rich Also Cry

In a rare outburst last week, businessman and Chairman Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, also bemoaned the worsening state of public infrastructure, including the state of power supply and rising inflation in Nigeria.

The founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, a platform which promotes entrepreneurship in Africa, maintained that Nigerians should be “vocal” about the way they are governed and hold their leaders more accountable.

The usually reticent businessman who chairs the Board of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) argued that being endowed with huge natural resources, the country should not be in its current decrepit state.

In the last couple of weeks, the state of basic supplies like electricity and petrol have worsened as Nigerians have been spending more time in the queues to buy petrol and businesses and homes suffer due to prolonged blackouts.

The nationwide fuel scarcity started after it was discovered that some cargoes of imported products had excess methanol content, which had started damaging motorists’ cars before it was noticed.

An attempt to withdraw the off-spec fuel has since disrupted the country’s product supply chain, resulting in the lingering situation that has lasted over a month.

Furthermore, the already bad state of power supply in the country has in the last weeks worsened , with the authorities blaming shortage of gas and dipping water levels at the country’s hydropower stations for the development.

In addition, the prices of goods and services, have recently skyrocketed, with diesel increasing by about 300 per cent in the last number of weeks and airline operators threatening to stop their services due to the galloping aviation fuel prices.

But Elumelu, who narrated the ordeal of some of his colleagues at work on his Twitter handle, noted that apart from the economy, Nigerians are now afraid as a result of the bad security situation.

 “This morning, I am listening to my colleagues at the office bemoan the very pressing issues that they face everyday in this country, and how things have been getting worse and worse – no electricity for five days, hikes in the price of diesel, frightening food inflation, etc.

“How can a country so rich in natural resources have 90 per cent of its citizens living in hardship and poverty? I have often said that access to electricity is critical for our development, alleviation of poverty and hardship. And speaking of security, our people are afraid! businesses are suffering,” he said.

The businessman who holds a controlling interest in Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), added: “Elections are coming-security and resources need to be everyone’s agenda-let’s be vocal for our nation’s priority.

“Evil prevails when good people are silent. We need to be vocal about 2023. Let’s focus on Nigeria. Demand and advocate for leaders that deliver. In 2023, Nigeria must be on a strong trajectory for progress and development,” he concluded.

Emergency Meeting Without Emergency Results

In government’s usual reactive manner, weeks after the power supply situation deteriorated, the Minister of Power, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, last week called for an emergency meeting of stakeholders, to, as it were, resolve all the outstanding issues.

At the meeting which had in attendance a delegation from the Gencos, TCN, NBET, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Shell and other stakeholders in the power value chain, the minister was said to have advised that stakeholders must work together to make electricity more stable.

“This meeting was summoned to address the current electricity situation in the country which we see not happy about. We must find a solution so that Nigerians will have electricity. I want us to have the patience to talk to each other, not blaming each other,” he was quoted as saying.

Aliyu maintained that the Nigerian government will not relent in its effort to make sure that improvements in the power sector are sustained and built upon so that the electricity supply improves across Nigeria.

But not much improvements have been experienced since the meeting. The minister and his team have also received flaks for being reactive , rather than being on top of the happenings in the sector.

For instance, the excuse that water had dipped at the hydropower stations and was therefore affecting national electricity supply, people believe, does not hold water  (no pun intended).

Since ordinarily, that reduction in the water levels at the plants should have been envisaged, it is believed that supply from thermal assets should have been ramped up as a buffer.

In addition, to allow the shutting down of various gas-powered generation plants for maintenance simultaneously at a time that it was projected that water-powered facilities will depreciate markedly due to the vagaries of the seasons, smacked of lack of planning. 

Governors Meet

Following the national outrage promoted by the blackouts, the governors of the 36 states have scheduled a meeting for Wednesday this week to discuss the energy crisis in the country.

Head, Media and Public Affairs at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, in a statement said that plans to finish major power projects across the states will also be part of discussions.

 “As a reaction to the lingering power sector ineffectiveness of the last couple of weeks, power projects’ delivery across the states will dominate their conversation when governors meet on Wednesday.

“The governors have sought the attendance of the minister of power, , according to an invitation issued to all governors by the Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, Mr Asishana Bayo Okauru, today (Friday),” it stated.

It’s unclear when Nigerians will begin to have reliable power supply, but what has become abundantly clear is that it may take a miracle for the Muhammadu Buhari administration to make any significant improvement in the sector in just about one year left of his administration.

 Quotes

“In one fell swoop, generation dropped from 3,000 megawatts earlier to 1,758 megawatts, leaving just 12 Gencos in operation out of the possible 25. This happened a day after the national  power grid  had earlier collapsed on Monday, causing a  nationwide outage after a loss of 1,100 megawatts from a 3,700MW peak generation earlier recorded”

“It’s unclear when Nigerians will begin to have reliable power supply, but what has become abundantly clear is that it may take a miracle for the Muhammadu Buhari administration to make any significant improvement in the sector in just about one year left of his administration”