Power outage: Nigerian govt summons AEDC, IBEDC, TCN

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has taken action in response to the deteriorating power supply situation in regions covered by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).

Similarly, the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Sule Ahmed Abdulazeez, has also been summoned over the issue.

In a statement released by the minister’s media aide, Bolaji Tunji, it was announced that the Chief Executives of AEDC and IBEDC, as well as the TCN Managing Director, have been called for a meeting in the coming week. The purpose of the meeting is to address the issues surrounding the worsening electricity supply in their respective regions and to find lasting solutions.

The letter summoning the CEOs, signed by the Director of Distribution Services at the Federal Ministry of Power, Engineer B.U Mustapha, emphasized the need to discuss the challenges facing the regions and to find ways to improve the power situation.

Mustapha stated, “The CEOs of AEDC and IBEDC, as well as the Managing Director of TCN, are requested to attend a meeting with the Minister of Power to discuss the poor power supply in their regions. The meeting aims to find lasting solutions to the challenges affecting electricity distribution.”

According to the statement, despite efforts to increase power generation by the Generating Companies (GENCOs) to over 4000MW in recent days, some regions are still experiencing poor supply. It was mentioned that some distribution companies were not taking up power supply from TCN as expected, and there were reports of damaged power lines due to vandalism in regions such as Abuja, Benin, Port Harcourt, and Ibadan.

The minister expressed disappointment in the non-performance of some DISCOs and stated that there would be a focus on ensuring compliance with expected performance standards. He warned that failure to perform could result in severe punishment or the revocation of licenses.

Adelabu said, “We cannot continue to tolerate the poor power supply situation in these regions. The CEOs and the TCN Managing Director must come prepared to discuss concrete steps to improve the situation.”

The minister further directed TCN to commence immediate repair works on the damaged transmission towers and power lines to improve supply in the affected regions.

Adelabu appealed to electricity consumers to bear with the situation while efforts are being made to improve the power supply nationwide.

“We understand the frustrations of Nigerians due to the poor power supply. We assure you that we are taking concrete steps to address these challenges,” Adelabu concluded.