Why Power Supply Has Dropped - Ministry Of Power
by Omotayo Yusuf via Naij.com
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has disclosed that the vandalism of Tower no 62, along the Okpai-Onitsha 330kV double circuit transmission line, evacuating power from the Okpai Power Station in Delta state has resulted in the reduction of available power to the national grid by about 480 megawatts (Mw).
The Nation reports that power supplied to electricity distribution companies (DisCos) from the TCN dropped to 3,682Mw.
According to the Ministry of Power, 372Mw was shed from the 4,054.07Mw of November 11.
In a statement on its website, the ministry said the vandalism took place at Asaba Uchi, Ndokwa East local government and that it had the capacity to bring down other towers.
At about 4:51 am on Tuesday, 10th November, 2015, the Okpai ? Onitsha 330kV transmission line tripped and the cause of the tripping was traced to tower No 62, which had been vandalised. Two of the four legs of the transmission tower were cut by vandals, causing the tower to hang precariously. This poses a major threat to transmission grid integrity as a total collapse of this tower could bring down several other towers along the transmission line route.
The statement added that TCN management engineering crew inspected the site of the incident on the day of the vandalism and have already mobilised a reputable engineering contracting firm to anchor the transmission tower temporarily, to avoid total collapse.
Anchoring the vandalized tower will enable TCN energise one of the circuits on the tower, to enable it recommence partial power evacuation from the Okapi Power Station to the national grid. This is expected to be achieved in two weeks.
The statement read that construction of a new tower would have to wait till the dry season as vehicular access in the swampy area was impossible.
The appointment of Mr Babatunde Fashola, the former governor of Lagos as the Minister for Power, Works and Housing has been applauded by many Nigerians with some seeing his appointment as the savior to the epileptic power supply.
No comments:
Post a Comment