Power outage is not a new occurrence in Nigeria. However, the relationship between rain and erratic power supply has continued to piqued Nigerians. Chika Mefor-Nwachukwu writes…
This year’s hot weather was out of this world and Nigerians were literally begging for the rain to come. “Send down the rain,” was on the lips of everyone as they believed that the rain will calm the atmosphere. The rain definitely started but it came with its usual baggage; power outage. Every time the rain falls, electricity becomes erratic. Now, it gets even worse when the rain comes with a thunderstorm. Then the power outage lasts for a week or more.
It is the “normal” thing and Nigerians have learned to live by it.
“Whenever rain starts and there is still power, I get scared,” Tunde Akinbode, a resident of Lugbe, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), stated. “I expect power to be taken immediately the rain starts whether it comes with thunderstorm or not. This is how I have always experienced it so when it rains, and there is still power, it looks odd.”
Akinbode who is a civil servant stated that he prepares himself for the worse whenever it rains as he doesn’t know when the power will be restored.
“I am always fully prepared. I buy fuel and start-up my ‘I pass my neighbor’ generator. I can’t come and kill myself,” he said.
Areas where wooden poles are used to distribute power bear the brunt of the outage.
“If you noticed, these days, the rain comes with thunderstorms. You can now imagine what we are passing through in my area,” Gina Okere, a resident of Kubwa in the FCT stated.
She explained that every time it rains, wooden poles are pushed down but the wind and puts the community in a total blackout until the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company(AEDC) rectified the issue.
“Now, we do not have power for four days now. The rain that fell on Saturday caused a lot of havoc. If you move around our community, you will see wires lying around. We don’t even know when the light will be restored,” she said.
She added that she had asked one of the AEDC staff when power will be restored and he had told her that they have written to their headquarters about the incident and were waiting for feedback.
“I don’t know when this ‘feedback’ will come. This issue is really affecting our business. See, I bought a carton of frozen fish that Saturday to sell. Before the next day, it has unfrozen. My generator isn’t in good shape. I had to hurriedly put it on fire. I smoked all of them. Now many of my customers want frozen fish. It isn’t good for my business, at all,” she lamented.
Speaking further on the issue, Bode Adeboji, another resident had accused the AEDC staff of asking them to contribute money to buy poles to replace the fallen poles if they want their power restored immediately.
“I asked him if it wasn’t their duty to provide the poles and he said it was and that they have asked their headquarters for poles. He said if we can’t contribute money to buy, we have to wait until his office responds; even if it takes months,” he said.
According to the World Bank epileptic power supply costs businesses in Nigeria about $29 billion yearly.
The bank’s conclusion was drawn from its Power Sector Recovery Programme factsheet presented during the World Bank’s virtual meeting with journalists in April.
The bank’s practice manager, West and Central Africa Energy, Ashish Khanna, in his presentation, said, “Businesses in Nigeria lose about $29bn annually because of unreliable electricity. Nigerian utilities get paid for only a half of the electricity they receive.”
While Nigerians have resigned to fate on the issue of epileptic power supply in the country, they however wonder if the rain/power outage relationship that had existed for a long time will ever stop.
Chuka Mmadu, an electrical engineer doesn’t think it will. He revealed that as far as Nigeria’s power distribution system remains the way it is, the challenge of power interruption will continue.
“Our system is utterly outdated and in ruins. That’s the major reason. The power distribution we have in Nigeria is exposed to the turbulence of weather. Before it rains in Nigeria, there is usually thunderstorm and this usually affects the distribution system. You discover that the aluminum conductors specially used for distribution of power supply to the customers are pulled down by the source of the wind. The power distribution companies have to interrupt the power supply because if there is power supply, and with the energy, if it falls on houses or on people, it will electrocute anybody on that axis.
“The best thing is to interrupt power supply when there are signs of turbulence in the atmosphere. They have to disconnect so that people will be safe. It is precautionary measures,” he said.
He revealed that in developed countries, the conductors are buried underground where excavations, wind or storms cannot affect them by any means adding that the system helps for steady power and protects the consumers.
“Power interruption has come to stay unless the power distribution company changes this distribution system. But how can that happen, when we build houses without any planning. You will see people build houses on the road and under the high tensions poles. As long as we have conductors across the streets from end to end and exposed, there will always be power outage,” he said.
Explaining it’s the reason for power outage when it rains, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), General Manager, Oyebode Fadipe stated that it was aimed to protect lives and properties.
“The issue of electricity supply going off, especially when it rains could be viewed from two perspectives, which could be electricity lines and poles being pulled down by the rains or some other major interruption.
“To avoid any form of destruction to lives and properties, the system is programmed to go off when it is about to rain.
“Customers would have also observed that after rain, an attempt is made to restore the supply which is called “flashing,” he said.
