PHCN’s New Option

Umaru Yar'Adua

Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), installs mini-transformers in some parts of Lagos, in a determined bid to boost power distribution
By Oji Odu
Why must we continue to pay electricity bills under epileptic power supply or in the absence of power supply when there is no meter reading but estimated, coded and crazy bills?” This is the daunting poser most Nigerians have continued to ask in all parts of the country even as they eagerly await the supposedly earth-moving declaration of emergency in the power sector by President Umaru Yar’Adua later this month.
With a grossly inadequate 3,000 mega watts (mw) operational capacity out of an estimated 6,000mw of installed capacity, power generation in the country which recently depleted to 1,630mw now hovers around 900mw with an attendant tales of woes as Nigerians groan under the crippling effects of the reign of darkness.
Unfortunately, the problems of the nation’s power sector are myriad, with every sector needing urgent help from generation to transmission down to the distribution of electricity.
The Source’s findings indicate that past administrations had spent huge sums of money in seeking to address the perennial power problems especially as it affects generation while distribution was somehow neglected leading to a dilapidation of equipment and rot in the system.
But in a bid to tackle the problems squarely by making distribution of electricity effective, the Ikeja Distribution Zone of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has started installing mini-transformers within the zone, ostensibly to check the problems experienced as a result of overloading of feeders.
Under the new scheme, a mini-transformer is allotted to three buildings which are now responsible for taking care of it in terms of protection against vandalisation and effective maintenance.
In a chat with The Source, Pekun Adeyanju, Principal Manager (Public Affairs), Ikeja Distribution Zone, Alausa Central Business District of the PHCN, said that the project is a World Bank scheme with the Pilot phase starting with the Ogba area.
He stated that the scheme is aimed at solving the problem of distributing electricity in terms of checking overloading of feeders which has resulted in continued load shedding so that more people would enjoy electricity supply.
Adeyanju: “This mini-transformer project is sponsored by the World Bank, with Ogba zone piloting the scheme in which about three to 10 buildings are connected to a mini-transformer for effective power distribution.
“This new scheme is very advantageous because even when a mini-transformer is bad, only the houses attached to it would be affected, and not the whole area. Also, they (allotees) will help to project it from vandalisation, speedy repairs and maintenance by reporting promptly to the PHCN for any faults detected”.
When asked whether this would not be another White Elephant project especially with the unprogressive way the pre-paid metre project is going, Kola Abimbola, Public Relations Officer of the Ajegunle Business Unit in Ikorodu Zone of the PHCN said that what is happening at Ogba zone is like a test-run, which if handled properly will succeed elsewhere.
“The mini-transformer project, which is a World Bank project, will succeed especially as fewer houses are attached to a transformer for efficient and effective power distribution. This will eliminate overloading of the transformers and boost power supply.
“The way this new scheme works is that there will be a step-down of power from 33KVA to 11KVA to accommodate the mini-transformers, otherwise the power will be too much and blow them (mini-transformers). The contractor in charge of the project is going round the zones to know how they will be made to benefit from it”, Abimbola said.
Meanwhile, power generation in the country remains at an abysmal low, hovering around 900mw, with most parts of the country suffering from epileptic power supply while some parts are in total darkness. Many Nigerians have therefore resolved not to honour electricity bills which they claim are tantamount to extortion and rip-off; in many instances, they have became aggressively confrontational with officials of PHCN.
Last month, residents of Festac Town resolved not to pay electricity bills from the month of May 2008 “until further notice,” citing among other things,” lack of metre reading, extortion through estimated, coded and crazy bills, epileptic power supply and refusal of PHCN to install pre-paid metres in Festac Town”.
Within the same period, a group of youths at Mushin threatened to shoot PHCN’s district officials in the area if they failed to restore power supply to their area. The story is the same at Igando and Egbeda, between Banire Ponle and Church area, where a resident, Banjo Salisu, told The Source: “We are waiting for PHCN officials to bring the bills or attempt to disconnect anybody when for about two months we have not seen any flash of light.”
Meanwhile, The Source’s findings reveal that electrical equipment worth millions of naira which were imported about 10 years ago by the Federal Government had continued to lay waste, until recently when the Minister of Energy (power), Mrs. Fatima Balaraba Ibrahim, directed the Chief Executive Officers (CEO’s) of PHCN Distribution zones to collect and install 600 transformers, circuit breakers and isolators where they are needed.
Also, the Federal Government has approved N32.3billion for the construction of 19 new transmission lines across the country, as well as a new electricity tariff from six naira to N11per kilowatt hour as part of the preparations for the emergency in the power sector that is expected to gulp no fewer than five billion dollars (N600billion).