Affected generating units will return within 48 hours - Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe

The Federal Government has attributed power outages affecting Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and two other areas to planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station, gas supply constraints and the sabotage of transmission lines.

Power Minister Joseph Tegbe said in a statement posted on Facebook on Friday that the disruptions had reduced the amount of electricity available on the national grid, forcing operators to ration supply in some areas. He said the first affected generating units were expected back online within 48 to 72 hours, with others returning in phases.

“Planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station and constraints in gas supply to some thermal power stations have reduced the amount of electricity available on the national grid,” Tegbe said.

He added that damage to transmission infrastructure had limited operators’ ability to reroute electricity to some areas. “Sabotage of key transmission lines has also restricted the use of alternative routes to supply some locations, especially Lagos,” he said.

Tegbe said the ministry was working with power sector operators to improve gas deliveries to generating plants and speed up repairs to damaged infrastructure. He apologised to affected households and businesses and said the ministry would provide further updates as supply improved.

On November 4, the minister directed the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) and electricity distribution companies to address operational problems behind the decline in generation.

NISO had separately attributed the shortfall to inadequate gas supplies at thermal plants and reduced water inflows into hydroelectric reservoirs. The outages also prompted a dispute between TCN and Ikeja Electric, with the transmission company challenging the distributor’s claim that grid instability had caused the outages.