Power Supply: Please Bear With Us— FirstPower Begs Customers In Anambra
FirstPower Electricity Distribution Company (FpEDC) has blamed the poor power supply in Anambra on nationwide generation challenges.
FpEDC which made the appeal in a Statement signed by its Izunna Okafor, Head of Communications pleaded with customers in the state to bear with company.
Okafor said FpEDC was not to blame as electricity distribution companies had no role in the generation of power or in determining how much electricity was transmitted to states.
He said that at the terminal stage of the electricity value chain.
“Electricity distributed in Anambra is generated elsewhere in the country and transmitted through the national grid before reaching the interface stations that supply the state.
“Whenever national electricity generation declines, the amount allocated to every distribution company across Nigeria automatically drops.
“Nigeria has recently been experiencing a major reduction in electricity generation due to a severe shortage of natural gas supply to thermal power plants which produce the bulk of electricity on Nigeria’s national grid.
“This was worsened by the disruption caused by an explosion on the Escravos-Lagos gas pipeline in December last year, an incident that affected the operations of several gas-fired power plants,” he said.
Okafor said another problem facing operators in the sector was the huge debts owed to generation companies within the electricity market.
He said the liabilities which were estimated at about N6 trillion has significantly weakened the ability of power producers to procure adequate gas required to operate their power plants optimally.
“The ongoing Israel/US-Iran War has caused immediate scarcity of and spike in prices of petroleum products and this is further complicating the issue in Nigeria’s energy sector.
“Thermal plants rely heavily on natural gas to generate electricity, the shortage has forced several generating units to shut down or operate below their installed capacity,” he said.
On the planned protest by customers in Anambra, FpEDC said it recognised that they had the constitutional right to express their feelings but appealed to them to understand the challenges of the company.
He said protests directed at distribution companies may not yield the desired results as the root causes of electricity shortage lay with the generation which was beyond the control of the distribution company.
He however reassured customers that FirstPower was committed to transparency, fair billing, regulatory compliance and improved customer engagement in Anambra.
He promised that once national electricity generation improved and allocations increased, supply to Anambra would also improve.
