The Federal Government Tuesday denied reports of a significant drop in the country’s power supply.
The Presidential Taskforce on Power (PTFP) stated that the country’s power system only experienced a partial system disturbance, although, it did not disclose the nature of disturbance.
According to a statement from the media adviser to the chairman of PTFP, Mr. Ikeogu Oke, in Abuja, the government admitted that there was a system disturbance which occurred on September 7, 2012 but that it was only temporary and was quickly taken care of to forestall further damage.
He added that the country retained a peak generation of 4,077MW on the same day.
Oke equally stated that there is no vacuum of capable leadership in the Ministry of Power or its complementary PTFP.
Meanwhile, the government has restated its commitment to the successful implementation of the power sector reforms towards achieving improved electricity supply in the country.
Speaking in Lagos Tuesday at the inauguration of the Ikeja Forum for Electricity Consumers, the Minister of State for Power, Mr.Darius Ishaku, stated that the main agenda of the power reform was to provide adequate, reliable and affordable power supply to Nigerians.
He noted that the success recorded so far in power generation was beyond the contribution of any individual and assured that the Federal Government would build on the improvement recorded in electricity supply.
According to him, electricity supply across the country hovers around 4,300megawatts.
On the £2million pension fund of the workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), discovered to have been lodged in Barclays Bank for about 21 years, the minister said the discovery would boost the ongoing negotiation between the workers and the Federal Government.
The minister stated that the Ikeja Forum would help to curb litigations in the power sector and advised consumers to make use of the forum before resorting to other more complicated and more expensive mechanisms of conflict resolutions.
Lagos State Governor Raji Fashola said he supported the intent of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 but added that there were modifications he would have suggested.
He stated that the establishment of a customer forum was the most important provision of the Act.
Fashola noted that power supply was the gateway for the country’s journey from poverty to prosperity.
“The importance of power supply underscores our creation of the Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources for the first time in the State’s 45-year history,” he said.
