Egbin Power shut down means more Nigerians without electricity supply

Increasing misery quotient Aggravating poverty level

NIGERIA’SPOW ER GENERA TION PROB LEM CON TINUES TO GET DEEPER WITH EGBIN POWER PLANT, the largest gas-fired power plant located in Ikorodu, Lagos State temporarily shut down.

The shutdown means that on average, about 3000 megawatts of electricity are completely off the national grid, thereby creating serious outages in many parts of the country, compounding the already bad power situation in the country

The plant management had reported that a fire incident occurred at the facility on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at around 4.20 pm.

In a statement to its stakeholders and the general public, it said that the fire outbreak was successfully contained by a team of its firefighters in collaboration with firefighters from the Nigeria Gas Company at Egbin.

It also pointed out that it has set out a process in motion to determine the cause of the fire incident as it has temporarily suspended its operations in line with the plant’s safety procedures.

According to the statement, ‘’The management of Egbin Power Plc, wishes to inform its stakeholders and the public of a fire incident that occurred at the power plant on Wednesday, February 2nd 2022 at around 4.20pm.

The incident was successfully controlled by a team of Egbin firefighters working in collaboration with firefighters from the Nigeria Gas Company in Egbin.

“Egbin has since activated its emergency response mechanism to determine the cause of the incident, while operations at the plant have been temporarily suspended in line with the plant’s safety procedures. Egbin is also working with the Federal Fire Service, the Federal Ministry of Power and other stakeholders to review the incident.

“The management of the company assures the public that its technical team is working assiduously to restore operations.

“As the foremost power plant in the nation, Egbin remains committed to providing power innovatively and responsibly in compliance with good health, safety and environmental standards,’’ it assured.

Even when there was no shut down Nigerians have suffered untold hardship as a result of inadequate supply of electricity.

The disproportionate distribution of electricity by distribution companies does not help matters as some areas are completely left without supply because bands are placed, while some areas are favoured because they pay a higher tariff.

With the current shut down of the most effective power plant in the country, it means a lot more people would be thrown out of jobs. Artisans, people with small shops and housewives who are not able to put on their deep freezers to store ingredients and food, are lamenting over the poor state of electricity supply.