‘Jebba power plants intact’

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Mainstream Energy Solutions formerly Jebba Hydro Electric Company, Engr. Lamu Audu, yesterday said the company’s plants are intact and that there is nothing wrong with them.

Audu said contrary to speculations, Jebba is not responsible for poor supply in some parts of Ilorin, Kwara State, because the company only generates electricity and sends to the national grid.

The hydro electric company, formerly of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) is currently running five units out if its installed capacity of six units. Another unit was added in November last year, shooting up the capacity from 380 to 450 megawatts.

Speaking to Daily Trust, Lamu said: “Jebba doesn’t supply to Ilorin at all and the problem Ilorin has, has nothing to do with Jebba”, adding that the national control tower in Oshogbo, Osun State was responsible for distribution of power.

“If Ilorin is close to Jebba, it does not mean we are sending our power to Ilorin”, he stressed, noting that despite the insufficient water to run the plants, the company has tried to stabilize.

He said: “If there is anything, it is not due to mechanical fault but you know we are in the dry season, we don’t have enough water to run all the units. So, normally we try to manage our reservoir, we call it hydro reservoir management or hydrological management so that we can use the remaining water in our reservoir till the next flood season. We don’t run all the machines at the same time. What we do is; we have what we call peak time and off peak time. When demand is high in the system, we call it peak time. In the evening when people are returning from work, from five till around 11 pm, we call them peak hours, so we try to run all the units to be able to increase supply in the system”.