Abuja Disco Apologises for Poor Power Supply

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc (AEDC) yesterday apologised for the recent poor power supply in its franchise areas, blaming poor electricity generation for the challenge.

A statement from the company signed by its Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Donald Etim, noted that the power available for supply to customers had been abysmally low in recent times.

AEDC stressed that as a company fully committed to enriching its customer experience, it regretted that the challenge of low generation was beyond its direct control, but said that it was aware of the plight of its customers.

The distribution company’s customers are mostly in Kogi State, Niger State, Nasarawa State and Abuja.

“The current low and unstable supply of electricity to homes and businesses is as a result of low power generated to the national grid,” it stated.

It added: “In recent weeks, the level of power generated and served to the national grid for onward delivery to customers has been abysmally low.

“However, we will do our utmost, at all times to ensure that we equitably distribute even the modest supply in such a way that a fair cross-section of customers is served,” the company said.

Knowing full well the place and role of electric power in daily life, the company stressed that it was deeply committed to ensuring that working with other stakeholders within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), it resolves the challenges within the sector.

“The root causes of this latest low generation have been identified and are being addressed,” AEDC said.

The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, speaking at a press briefing on Thursday in Abuja, had given reasons for the reduction in power supply across the nation.

“I would like to discuss the increased load shedding you may have observed in Abuja and other areas in the country. With the reduction in hydro capacity during the dry season, additional load needs to be taken up by our gas plants.

“We are having maintenance work in the Eastern axis around Odukpani leading to reduced power supply from the usually reliable NDPHC Calabar power plant and we are having challenges at Okoloma gas station linked to Afam VI power plant.

“We are working with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and other gas suppliers to improve the pressure on the Western axis that is precluding units from reaching optimum supply.

“These challenges are surmountable, and we have a three-pronged approach we are executing. We have short term solutions as well as long term solutions. We are working assiduously to resolve short term load shedding challenges,” he had said.

Etim stated that the company understood the pains of its customers who have suffered untold hardship as a result of the situation.

“Indeed, we empathise with them. But we also use this opportunity to appeal to them to bear with us as all industry stakeholders are working tirelessly to achieve system stability and ensure availability and steady supply of electricity across AEDC franchise areas,” he said.