FG: Obsolete equipment hinders power distribution

Power distribution is now difficult because equipment acquired by the distribution companies upon privatisation have become obsolete, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said.

Addressing State House reporters yesterday after the Federal Executive Council meeting, Fashola said the equipment must be upgraded for the Discos to be able to absorb and distribute the existing megawatts of electricity.

The minister was fielding questions on why distribution companies recently rejected over 9,000 megawatts of electricity within one week as reporter.

“On the rejection of 9,000 megawatt of power, I have not read the report. As at the beginning of the 10th August this year, the amount of power that was available to be delivered to the grid was 6,800 plus megawatts. So, what that means is that from 2,690 in 2015 when this government was inaugurated, we have demonstrated that we can grow.

“We have overcome the gas challenges and the vandals and pipeline repairs have progressed and that has impacted success on the generation side. Our power is going to come from different sources, hydro, gas, solar and that is why we are investing in Mambilla for more hydro so that when one source is vulnerable we can rely on another’s source.

“But in addition to power increase in terms of production, the transmission capacity has also increased, it has moved from the proverbial 5,000 to 6,700 megawatt that we can will. But the problem now is at the distribution end. For the kind of sustainable power we all want to see, it means every part of the value chain must work,” he said.