Key Points

• Gas constraints power supply cuts across South-East region.

• Load shedding followed low system frequency.

• Stakeholders working to restore electricity supply.

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc (EEDC) says that the recent drop in electricity supply in Nigeria’s South-East region is due to gas shortages that are affecting power generation all over the country.

The company said that low system frequency, which was caused by a lack of gas available to electricity generation companies, forced the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to ration the energy it had, which meant that distribution companies like EEDC got less.

Emeka Eze, EEDC’s Group Head of Corporate Communications, said in a statement on Tuesday that the situation has directly affected the daily power supply to customers because grid managers had to stabilise the system while generation capacity was low.

Gas limits power supply in the South-East

Eze said that the gas shortage made it hard for generation companies to make enough electricity, so TCN had to implement load shedding measures to protect the national grid. Because of this, EEDC got fewer energy allocations, which meant that less electricity was sent to homes and businesses.

The company said that the situation has had an impact on customers of its subsidiary distribution companies, such as MainPower, TransPower, FirstPower, NewEra, and EastLand, which all work in different parts of the region.

EEDC said that the problems were out of the hands of distribution companies and that power supply still depends on the availability of upstream gas and stable generation levels.

Load shedding comes after gas limits power supply

The statement says that the load shedding was a direct result of the system frequency dropping, which is a key sign of grid stability. Grid operators have to cut off power when the frequency drops below safe levels to stop a nationwide collapse.

According to EEDC, the current supply problems are a sign of bigger problems in Nigeria’s power value chain, especially how gas-fired plants are vulnerable to supply problems.

The distributor also said that the supply of electricity will keep changing until the levels of generation go up and the frequency of the system stabilises.

People involved are working to get the power back to normal

EEDC said that people in the industry, such as generation companies, gas suppliers, and grid operators, are all working hard to fix the problem and get electricity flowing normally again in the area.

The company said sorry to customers for the trouble caused by the lower supply and thanked them for being patient and understanding during the disruption.

EEDC said again that it is committed to keeping customers informed and providing better service as conditions on the national grid get better.