As power allocation hovers at 3,236MW
PH DisCo apologizes for short fall Kaduna DisCo sets up response teams
No transparency, fairness in billing — CPPE
Firms will pay for the services they don’t enjoy — LCCI
Expert expects improvement in supply
By Udeme Akpan, Obas Esiedesa & Ediri Ejoh
Barely one week after the new tariff regime which increased electricity tariff by 231 percent for category A consumers, there are indications that the electricity supply capacity is grossly inadequate to meet the 20 hours per day minimum benchmark for the new tariff while accommodating other category of consumers.
The 11 Electricity Distribution Companies, DisCos, operating in the electricity sector were, yesterday, allocated just 3,236 megawatts, MW, thus constraining them from delivering a minimum of 20 hours power supply to consumers under ban A nationwide.
Reporters findings show that this has been the average supply before the tariff jerk up and no improvement has been made since the new tariff came into force last week.
The new Multi-Year Tariff Order, MYTO, that raised electricity rates for about two million customers by 231 percent to N255 per kilowatt, from N68 per kilowatt, Vanguard findings further show, is running under power generation stranded at 4,200 Megawatts in the past seven days.
Information in the data supplied by Independent System Operator, ISO, showed that as at 3pm, yesterday, load allocation to the eleven DisCos which stood at 3,236 Megawatts, gave Abuja Disco the highest allocation at 611MW, followed by Ikeja Electric (603MW), Eko DisCo (513MW), Ibadan DisCo (323MW), Benin DisCo (219MW), and Enugu DisCo (193MW).
Others were Port Harcourt DisCo (191MW), Kano DisCo (181MW), Kaduna Electric (174MW), Jos DisCo (152MW) and Yola DisCo (76MW).
The shortfall in supply has prompted some DisCos to appease their customers with Port Harcourt DisCo issuing public apologies.
PHEDC apologises for shortfall
The PHEDC in a statement titled ‘Service shortfall’ said: “Kindly note the current service shortfall experienced in areas where we did not meet up with the contractual supply hours on 8th of April, 2024”.
The company listed the affected feeders as Amika and Refinery lines with areas such MM Highway, Mariam road, Rumukwurushi, Aweto Guest House, Atali, Igwuruta Road, Rumuibekwe-Bori road, Ahoada road, Ogbonda, Aba-Road, Eleme Junction, Eneka, New-layout Eneka road, Igwuruta-Ali, affected.
The utility blamed load shedding by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, as well as “preventive maintenance and line vegetation control”, for the shortage in supply.
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Also, to ensure that it does not fall short of the standard required by the new tariff, Kaduna Electric has disclosed that it has set up teams to rapidly respond to downtime for Band A feeders.
Kaduna DisCo sets up response teams
A statement issued by the company’s Head of Corporate Communication, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, said setting up the rapid response team is part of Kaduna Electric’s efforts to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the Band A customers whose tariff has just been adjusted.
It called on customers to contact the teams to report faults for prompt response. The company said “the four-member team set up to cover Doka, Zaria, Rigasa and Barnawa regions each in Kaduna state where majority of the Band A feeders are located are to operate round the clock to ensure speedy clearance of faults and restoration of supply whenever there is a downtime”.
