*The Transmission Company of Nigeria explains the 50MW reduction in power supply would result from planned annual ‘preventive maintenance’ at transmission substation in Lagos State

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

As the organisation prepares for an overhaul of its system, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has alerted Nigerian electricity consumers to a power supply drop by 50 Megawatts (MW) Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

The TCN, which said this in a statement issued Monday, July 18, said the drop would be as a result of planned annual “preventive maintenance” on the line bay at Lekki Transmission Substation, in Lagos State.

The company also noted during the maintenance period, about 50MW would be interrupted, affecting power supply to Lekki Phase I, Oniru, Elegushi, Waterfront, Igbo Efon and Twenty-first Century Estate, in Lagos state.

The statement said: “TCN regrets all inconvenience this might cause electricity consumers in the affected area.

The latest announcement reportedly followed a recent promise by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to deliver at least 5,000MW of electricity to Nigerian consumers effective from July 1 this year.

Peak generation was estimated at 3, 967MW as of 3:24 p.m. Monday  whereas the lowest generation was 3, 539MW, according to statistics from the Nigerian Electricity System Operator (NESO).

Meanwhile, NERC has responded to a widespread public clamour for improvement in electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply, following consistent system collapse of the national power grid.

Over four incidents of such far-reaching system collapse had been recorded this year, according to report.

The regulatory Commission also stated that all hands are on deck to ensure boost in power generation and supply to electricity consumers.

It noted that all stakeholders, including gas firms, had signed binding contracts to the effect.

Garba Sanusi, Chairman of NERC, during a recent media parley in Lagos said: “Although there have been contracts in the past, they were not binding and the parties could decide not to honour them.

“But with the new agreement, we would make sure no party defaults once the contracts are signed. “Whoever defaults will be held responsible and will be sanctioned.”