Nigeria’s fragile power sector is grappling with an alarming surge in large-scale electricity theft, exacerbating the country’s chronic energy crisis and leaving millions in the dark.
Vandals have disrupted ongoing repair works on two critical power transmission lines in Bayelsa and Edo states, according to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
In a statement on Friday, TCN revealed that the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV line, already under repair following an earlier attack, was targeted again on November 19, 2024. Vandals stole approximately one-third of the conductor, affecting towers 29 to 31.
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A team led by Engr. Emmanuel Akpa, General Manager of the Port Harcourt Region, inspected the site and found evidence that the theft occurred at night. To prevent further vandalism, TCN has engaged local security at Ula Ikata in Ahoada East Local Government Area to safeguard the site while repairs are underway.
Earlier in August, TCN reported that 13 towers along the same transmission line were vandalized, an incident first flagged by the Youth President of Ukpeli Community in Rivers State.
Similarly, TCN disclosed that vandals attacked transmission towers in Okada and Ofosu communities, impacting the 330kV Benin-Egbin and Benin-Omotosho transmission lines. A total of 31 towers were damaged, with critical components stolen.
The federal government had attributed the repeated grid collapse, which have become an embarrassment to Nigeria, to many factors including aged and ageing facilities, lack of maintenance and requisite investment, as well as alleged sabotage by unarmed forces.
Experts who spoke with BusinessDay on the issue has called for a total revamp of the power sector as well as more investment.
Speaking with BusinessDay, Kunle Olubiyo, president, Nigeria Consumer Protection Network said that even though grid collapse is part of a typical electrical system, there is the issue of obsolescence and weak infrastructure bedevilling activities of the sector.
Olubiyo stressed the need for regular maintenance of power infrastructure to keep active for a long time. “So if you don’t spend much on maintenance, you cannot get the best result.
“We have continued to raise the issue of obsolescence of infrastructure, and engineering equipment, whether it’s meter, when you use a meter for four to five years, they are expected to be taken out of the system for recalibration.
He noted the unavailability of required protective schemes on the grid adding that there was need to operate the grid in a decentralized island mode, that allows for hybrid systems at state levels.
Speaking on the available protective schemes on the grid, he said, “you have the reactor, you have the breaker, you have the frequency relay. You are supposed to equally have, for monitoring purposes and coordination, you are supposed to have what they call the SCADA. And apart from the SCADA, you’re supposed to have what they call the governor control, which should be automatic.
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Olubiyo speaking further, decried the poor budgetary allocation to the sector amidst prevailing challenges, he questioned the utilization of foreign loans, stating that there was need to ensure efficient use of public funds to ensure they meet the identified need.
He noted that the UN benchmark for energy per capita is 1,000 megawatts to 1 million people, stating that having a peak generation transmission evacuation of 5,800, is the highest level of energy poverty any country can imagine.
For him, “We need to do more and this require a lot of investment. For this year, our budget is N400 billion and already we have indebtedness to the Genco’s of N2.5 trillion and we have tariff shortfall of N3 trillion, so N5.5 trillion. And when you look at the total amount of money, N400 billion is grossly inadequate with what we have.
This is as Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, recently attributed the country’s epileptic power supply to corruption within the power sector, which he said was the result of the Commission’s probe into the sector.
said, “As I am talking to you now, we are grappling with electricity. If you see some of the investigations we are carrying out within the power sector, you will shed tears.
“People who were awarded contracts to supply electricity equipment, instead of using what they call 9.0 guage, they will buy 5.0. So, every time you see the thing tripping off, gets burnt, and all of that, It’s part of our problems.”
Also speaking with BusinessDay, Lanre Elatuyi, power sector analyst said that the Nigerian power sector as it is presently is in a very weak state requiring urgent revamping.
For Elatuyi, addressing the issues of weak infrastructure, must cut across the different value chains from generation, transmission to distribution chains.
He attributed the incessant grid collapse to weak transmission networks, stating that the transmission company over the years has focused on grid expansion without much in reliability and other investments that will make the grid resilient.
“We need to focus more on ensuring grid reliability instead of putting power assets just anywhere where they are not needed, but just because theire is a political influence to do so.
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“The problems on the distribution networks is just that DisCos are not financially bouyant and have no access to long term financing. Power infrastructure is capaital intensive and if there is no money, there is no way to invest in infrastructure.
“No investors will bring in more money when the path to cost recovery is not defined and certain,” he said.
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