By Nelson Utip
Engineer Olice Kemenanabo, The Managing Director of The Bayelsa Electricity Company and Board Chairman of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company PHEDC has said that it will take about five weeks to restore power to Bayelsa State due to the extent of damage on the Owerri-Ahoada-Yenagoa 132KV Double Circuit Transmission Lines, he stated this in an interview on a Bayelsa based radio station in Yenagoa recently .
Engr. Kemenanabo said that the procurement process for a contractor to repair the 35 to 50-meter-high towers, which collapsed due to vandalism takes time, adding by the state government’s commitment to quicken the process of repairs, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had commenced assessment of the damage and is waiting for its headquarters to prepare a technical report on the extent of the damage.
Engr. Kemenanabo also explained that the length of timeframe for restoration of power was as a result of the complex nature of erecting the towers, which according to him involved dismantling the three affected towers, followed by the procurement of replacement parts and the gradual rebuilding of the structures from the base to the top.
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The Engineer said that arrests had been made in connection with the vandalism, and there is an ongoing investigations, he called on the state government and its Ministry of Environment, along with security agencies, to conduct raids on nearby scrap dump sites to recover stolen materials from the towers.
He mentioned the state government’s efforts at refurbishing the Kolo Creek Gas Plant to initiate power generation in Bayelsa, stating that the process was ongoing but delayed as a result of lengthy negotiations with Shell Petroleum Development Company SPDC including Gas Sales Agreement, which will enable the purchase of the gas required for the plant’s refurbishment and upgrading from 20 to 71 megawatts.
Kemenanabo also mentioned that a consortium of investors and the state government are in advanced talks with SPDC for the supply of 100 million standard cubic feet of gas, he was optimistic that, following the governor’s directive, the agreement should be signed in two weeks time, while urging the residents to be patient during the restoration period.
