Awka: Anambra-owned FirstPower Electricity Distribution Company (FpEDC) has asked customers to bear with it over poor power supply, stating the issue is beyond its control.
FpEDC made the appeal in a statement signed by Mr Izunna Okafor, Head of Communications, on Thursday in Awka.
Okafor said the drop in supply was due to nationwide generation challenges, not operational failure.
He said that electricity distribution companies operated only at the final stage of the electricity value chain and had no role in generating power or determining how much electricity was transmitted to states.
He said electricity in Anambra is generated elsewhere and transmitted through the national grid to interface stations supplying the state.
Whenever total electricity production across the country decreases, the amount of power allocated to each distribution company in Nigeria automatically decreases.
“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.
He noted that this was worsened by an explosion on the Escravos-Lagos pipeline last December, which affected several gas-fired plants.
Okafor said another industry issue is huge debts owed to generating companies.
He said the liabilities, estimated at about N6 trillion, had significantly weakened power producers’ ability to procure adequate gas to operate their power plants optimally.
“The ongoing Israel/US-Iran War has caused immediate scarcity of and a 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 their constitutional right to express their feelings but appealed to them to understand the company’s challenges.
He said protests directed at distribution companies may not yield the desired results, as the root causes of the electricity shortage lie in generation, which is beyond the distribution company’s control.
He, however, reassured customers that FirstPower was committed to transparency, fair billing, regulatory compliance and improved customer engagement in Anambra.
He said the power supply in Anambra will rise when national generation and allocations improve.
