FG's Claim of Ibom Power Shutting Down is False, says Etukudo
- A claim by the minister of power concerning the erratic electricity supply in some parts of the country has been dismissed
- Engineer Meyen Etukudo stated that Ibom Power did not suffer any breakdown as claimed by the minister
- The minister had among other power plants, listed Ibom Power as one of the facilities to suffer breakdown across the country
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The managing director of Ibom Power Company Limited and senior special assistant on power to the Akwa Ibom state governor, Engr. Meyen Etukudo has said that its power station did not suffer a breakdown.
Etukudo was reacting to a statement made by the minister of power, Saleh Mamman recently.
The minister had announced that the Sapele, Afam, Olonrunsogo, Omotosho, Ibom, Egbin, Alaoji, and Ihovbor power plants suffered a breakdown, hence the recent frequent power outages in parts of the country.
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Etukudo, however, said the plant was shut down for scheduled maintenance known as Major Inspection (MI).
He made the clarification while featuring on a radio programme monitored by Legit.ng and aired in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital recently.
He said the Major Inspection, also called turnaround maintenance, was being done on the 115 megawatts unit 3 of the Ibom power plant.
His words:
“Nine power plants across the country shut down due to one issue or the other, some have gas supply issues or issues with their equipment but Ibom Power plant shut down for a maintenance that was already scheduled with the original equipment manufacturer, General Electric.”
Engr. Etukudo said that the drastic reduction in power supply from the national grid caused by the shutdown of the nine power plants has adversely affected the quality of power supply in Akwa Ibom state as the system voltage is below 132kV.
He added:
“Since Ibom Power is not on, the system voltage has been low because the state has to import power from Aba (the national grid). We measured the system voltage recently and it was 103kV instead of 132kV, the next time we checked, it was about 120kV so most equipment with high load demands will not work this period.”.
He explained further that electric motors, chillers, and so on will not work because such equipment cannot pick load if the voltage is not balanced on the three phases.
He assured members of the public that Ibom Power will soon be back on and the system voltage will return to normal.
Meanwhile, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has said his administration is committed to achieving 24 hours electricity supply for every household in the state by the end of the year 2021.
According to the governor, the availability of electricity should be a matter of right of every resident in the state.
Recall that three years ago, Etukudo told Legit.ng during an interview that a lot of money is still needed to be pumped into Nigeria's power sector.
The accomplished engineer made the comment after he was conferred with the highest honour of the engineering profession in Nigeria (fellowship) by the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
Source: Legit.ng
