Why there is blackout in Akwa Ibom – Ibom Power

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By Ndifreke Enefiok, Uyo

The Managing Director, Ibom Power Company, Engr. Meyen Etukudo, has explained the reason behind the prolonged blackout currently affecting Akwa Ibom State.

Despite having a power generation plant within the state, residents have experienced more than a week of total power outage, forcing many to rely on expensive fuel-powered generators to keep their businesses and homes running.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, Engr. Etukudo revealed that the blackout was caused by the snapping of the Ekim-Aba transmission line, which has been in operation since 1978.

Although this is not the first time the line is snapping this year, Etukudo explained that the aging infrastructure (line) which spans about 89 kilometers, originally built to carry 80 megawatts of power using a conductor called Wolf, which has a capacity of 150mm square, is long overdue for replacement.

Engr. Etukudo explained that in today’s modern technology, the tower could be retrofitted with a lighter conductor capable of carrying 160 megawatts instead of the current 80 megawatts.

Why we won’t have power in the State as a whole is because there’s a line from Aba to Itu or Itu to Aba, about 89 kilometers built around 1978 that line was to carry 80megawatts of power in and outside the state.

There’s a conductor called Wolf that carries 150mm square, that line has been there since 1978 and it is going down and it’s supposed to be changed that is, the conductor.

That conductor should be changed because the tower can carry it or alternatively be replaced with something lighter that has highest carrying capacity to 160megawatts instead of the 80megawatts,” he explained.

Etukudo revealed that despite constant snapping of the line which has formed front burner conversations at the State and national level, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is yet to address the issue by replacing the lines with new conductors.

“This issue has been raised at the state, national, and international levels, but nothing has been done. It is the job of TCN, not the state to fix the line. That line keeps snapping.

Every time it cuts off, we have to trace the line from Aba to Itu, which is a tedious process. Years ago, NEPA had helicopters that could fly along the line to quickly locate faults, fix them, and restore supply to the state. Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore,” Ibom Power MD lamented.

Engr. Etukudo further explained that the issue has also affected Ibom Power Company which has been unable to generate power for the past 10 days due to maintenance work by Savannah Energy, the gas supplier for the plant.

“We use gas to generate power, unlike other plants like Shiroro and Kainji Dams that use water for hydroelectric generation.
For the last 10 days, Ibom Power Company has not generated power because two major gas companies, Seplat and Savannah Energy, went on annual schedule maintenance at the same time.

Before you do annual schedule maintenance even power distribution companies have to write to Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for approval on when to carry out the maintenance but in this case, when they take off the gas, Ibom Power cannot generate,” he added.

Regarding the timeline for restoring power, Engr. Etukudo noted that the TCN is actively working on identifying and fixing the fault.

However, he warned that the power situation might remain unstable until the old lines are fully replaced.

“Even when power is restored, we might still experience occasional disruptions because the faulty lines need to be re-conducted,” he added.

Credit: The Mail Newspaper.

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