Following the persistent erratic electricity supply that has thrown many homes into darkness and crippled economic activities, the Federal Government has apologised to Nigerians while promising improvements across the country in the coming days.
The apology and promise were tendered by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, while giving a scorecard of his achievements in the last three years at a news conference in Abuja yesterday.
“I want to apologise to Nigerians, officially now, coming from me as the Minister of Power, for this temporary issue that is leading to hardship being experienced, especially during this dry season, where there is so much heat everywhere,” he said.
“Businesses are being affected, schools have been affected, and industries have been affected. It is not our wish to find ourselves in this situation, but it is due to some factors that are actually beyond our control.”
Adelabu attributed the current challenges to gas supply shortfalls to the generation companies due to the huge amounts of money owed to gas suppliers.
He hinted that the current war in the Middle East could further worsen the problems.
Nigerians have experienced power outages in recent weeks, leading to calls on authorities to address the issue.
The country’s power sector relies on gas-fired plants. But they have continued to face disruptions largely due to inadequate gas supply, pipeline maintenance issues, ageing infrastructure, and liquidity constraints.
“These issues collectively impact both the quantity and quality of gas delivered to power plants, leading to underutilisation of installed generation capacity, increased outages, and inefficiencies in power production,” the minister said.
To address this challenge, the minister suggested “scaling up renewable energy solutions, particularly off-grid and mini-grid systems”.
“Renewable energy offers a cost-effective and sustainable pathway to expand access without overburdening the national grid,” he said.
He also called for the integration of additional renewable energy into the grid. The minister said this will help diversify energy sources and reduce overall generation costs, particularly by lowering dependence on gas-fired power.
“Integrating utility-scale solar, hydro, and other renewables will also enhance energy security and support climate objectives,” he said.
“This will require investments in grid monitoring and control systems and system planning to effectively manage intermittency while maintaining grid stability.”
