Stakeholders Blame Grid Collapses On Obsolete Equipment

Stakeholders have blamed frequent collapses of the national grid on moribund equipment, saying it was high time obsolete electrical equipment nationwide were replaced to avert another round of collapse of the grid.

The coordinator of All Electricity Consumers Forum (AECF), Comrade Adeola Samuel-Ilori and Comrade Hassan Aliero called on the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, improve electricity supply by replacing moribund and obsolete electrical equipment nationwide to avoid another round of collapse of the national grid as the rainy season approaches.

Worried about 105 collapses of the national grid within 10 years despite the huge sums of money sunk into the power sector by the government, they warned that there could be more problems as the rainy season sets in based on the obsolete nature of electricity equipment nationwide.

Grid Collapse: Nigeria’s Never-ending Power Drama

In separate chats with LEADERSHIP Weekend, Samuel-Ilori described the frequent collapses of the grid as a great embarrassment to the nation based on the huge sums of money spent by the government, noting that over 95 per cent of electricity equipment across the country are moribund.

Corroborating Comrade Samuel-Illori’s claim, Comrade Aliero noted that the majority of the system collapses were because of bad and outdated equipment not because of vandalism alone.

“The issue of vandalism is not the major reason why we have a frequent collapsed grid, although it is a part, but the major reasons for frequent collapses are that those equipment by today ought to have gone digital.”

They lamented that the major reasons for privatisation which for turnaround have not been experienced.

The duo stated that the only thing that has taken place in the electricity sector after many years of privatisation is frequent hike in electricity tariff and why the investors have not added new equipment.

“The only solution is replacement of those moribund and old obsolete equipment nationwide.”

Samuel-Ilori said, “Many of these equipment have been there for many years since ECN days. The Maryland Lagos Mende village substations have been there since 1983 while things have gone digital and you still expect optimum performance?”

Samuel-Ilori blamed constant hikes in electricity tariff in the midst of darkness, saying it would be insensitive of the government to think of any tariff increase whether on Band A, B, C at a time when it has not succeeded in giving a stable electricity supply to the people.