NIGERIA: ERRATIC ELECTRICITY ENDANGERING EVERYONE

NIGERIA: ERRATIC ELECTRICITY ENDANGERING EVERYONE

By Bala Ibrahim

It is no longer news that the national grid has collapsed again. For the third time in less than one week, Nigerians have been pushed, pitched or plunged into darkness. Whatever the verb one chooses to use, would not be seen as an overkill, in the attempt to describe the disgust and heightened horror, visited on the nation incessantly. Like a curse, or what my people in the village would say, the invocation of a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on the nation, electricity supply in Nigeria today is going in the pattern of one step forward, ten or twelve steps backwards.

According to the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, which is responsible for evacuating electric power generated by the electricity generating companies (GenCos) and wheeling it to distribution companies (DisCos), progress is being made in the supply of power to Nigerians. But, looking at the practicalities on the ground, one can say with confidence, that the progress is more than offset by adverse developments. Yes, it’s akin to the kind of progress made by the man digging a well. The deeper down he goes, the more progress he says he is making. That’s not the kind of bargain Nigerians are looking forward to.

By the plan of the Government, the TCN was established to provide the vital transmission infrastructure between the generating companies, GenCos, and the distributing companies, DisCos, with the ultimate hope of making electricity available and affordable to everyone. But the wheels of this ambition seem to be moving backwards. Not only is the grid constantly collapsing, the cost of the power supplied is arbitrary. For reasons that sometimes run contrary to logic, power payment has been classified into bands, where, according to the power suppliers, customers are made to pay different rates, depending on where they stay, and the frequency of power supply to the area. For the same quality of power, different people pay different prices, because of difference in the quantity of power supplied.

Those on Band A, have 20 to 24 Hours of power supply. Band B: 16 to 20 Hours supply. Band C: 12 to 16 Hours supply. Band D: 8 to 12 Hours supply. I don’t know if there is Band 9, but I know there are people that are receiving less than 8 Hours of electricity. And since the exercise started, the membership of this classless band has been on the rise. In the typical characteristic humor of Nigerians, someone was quick to classify them as BANDITS. Yes, because of segregation or discrimination, TCN or the DISCOS, have classified rich or favored Nigerians as Band A, while the poor or neglected Nigerians are branded, the Bandits. And because of the constant collapse of the grid, everyone in Nigeria has been pushed to that band, I think.

The last time I checked, the grid had collapsed more than nine times this year alone. Of this figure, three were recorded within the past week. Every day comes with a different challenge. As at 9 a.m. today, contacts I made to many sections of the FCT, Abuja, said the grid was transmitting 0 megawatts. When you think about the inhibitive cost of diesel and petrol, alongside the costs of losses suffered in damages to appliances, due to the erratic nature of the power supply, you would be compelled to send sympathy and empathy to every Nigerian. Sympathy out of sincere concern for the pains they are experiencing, and empathy for sharing in their emotional experience.

In theory, we were told the TCN is intended to operate within certain limits, known as stability limits, in accordance with voltage, current, and frequency. However, sometimes, these limits are violated, resulting in outages that affect the stability, which has now become the norm in Nigeria.

The latest grid failure is particularly embarrassing, because, it happened about the same time President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is returning to the country, after a two week vacation abroad. The President has said he is committed to a new deal to speed up the delivery of power supply in Nigeria, especially the project that will ultimately deliver a reliable supply of electricity to Nigerian homes. This was contained in the President’s New Year broadcast, where he said:

“Just this past December during the COP28 in Dubai, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz and I agreed and committed to a new deal to speed up the delivery of the Siemens Energy power project that will ultimately deliver a reliable supply of electricity to our homes and businesses under the Presidential Power Initiative, which began in 2018. Other power installation projects to strengthen the reliability of our transmission lines and optimise the integrity of our National grid are ongoing across the country. My administration recognises that no meaningful economic transformation can happen without a steady electricity supply.”

Looking at the quantum of complaints from consumers, and the costs that come with such complaints, one can say that there may be some elements of sabotage, in order to frustrate the electricity transformation ambition of the President. And those in the game, are doing so by way of ensuring erratic electricity supply, which is endangering everyone.

NIGERIA: ERRATIC ELECTRICITY ENDANGERING EVERYONE