UDOM'S ELECTRICITY SUPPLY: WHEN A PARTY ENDS BEFORE IT BEGINS

                                          

It's becoming very worrisome the way we conduct ourselves in Akwa Ibom State. I'm afraid if things continue this way, we will never get the best from our governments. In Akwa Ibom State, very little is amplified as very much and the normal is magnified as unprecedented. This culture of praise singing and propaganda has been in full display regarding the recent power situation in Uyo metropolis.

Recently, part of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital enjoyed improved power supply. Even supposedly educated people with a little knowledge of how the Nigerian power sector works were quick to attribute the ephemeral improvement to the ingenuity of Governor Udom Emmanuel. The fact that a good part of the State capital and the rest of the state were living in utter darkness meant nothing to them. 

They quickly and characteristically hashtaged it #IkanUdom. This is the height of mischief or ignorance.

No doubt, I was happy about the sudden improvement in power supply as my area was also favoured. It meant absence of generator noise and a deserved rest for my old and over used generator.(You know what that means to the pocket).

                                            

So, what really happened? My findings revealed that the state government merely built a 2×15 MVA Injection Substation to help the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company(PHEDC) in load management. The injection Substation has absolutely nothing to do with power generation or transmission. It's concerned solely with distribution. 

In otherwords, it only improves the quality and not the quantity of power available to the State. How then did the Governor perform the magic attributed to him by those who are willing and ready to celebrate inanities? The so-called improved power supply is at best fleeting and unsustainable. It seems to have already run its course as I haven't seen light in my area for days now. Can the "hallelujah" singers offer an explanation?

It's even more painful when these commentators and some government officials make it look like the building of the injection Substation was a novel achievement. Prior to the building of the much hyped station, Uyo had existing three 2×15 MVA Injection Substations located along Oron Road, the State Secretariat and Itam. 

The administration of Obong Victor Attah reportedly installed two, including the one at the State Secretariat. And we were never deafened and embarrassed like this. There's one in Ibesikpo installed by the federal government as part of the National Integrated Power Project(NIPP) and another one under construction by the state government. For how long will we continue to elevate the ordinary to extraordinary in the name of politics?

The Substation located at Oron Road was carrying too much load which affected the quality of electricity in the areas it was servicing, hence the need to take some loads off it. The new substation at Four Lanes is meant to handle that task.Remember, it has nothing to do with the quantity of electricity supplied. Transmission is the exclusive preserve of the federal government. It's only generation and distribution that were privatised. You can't generate and distribute.

                                                                               

Why did some parts of the state capital enjoy improved power supply? My findings reveal that as part of the deal, Governor Udom Emmanuel got the management of Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company to accede to allocating more power to certain parts of the State capital which harbour a good number of top politicians and government functionaries through load shedding.That was why while power improved in certain areas, darkness increased in other areas. And the deal was to last for three months. Ewet Housing Estate and environs, Osong Ama and its environs, Shelter Afrique and its environs were the beneficiaries of that temporary respite from incessant blackout. While that party lasted, Ikot Ekpene Road, Abak Road, Aka Road and the rest of the state were completely left to wallow in unrestrained darkness.

I discovered in the course of my findings that power generated and allocated to Akwa Ibom State through the Transmission Company of Nigeria(TCN) is enough to give us uninterrupted power supply. But we lack the requisite transmission facilities to take them to end users.(That's a story for another day). If the state government is interested in giving Akwa Ibom people steady supply, it should invest in transmission lines and stations the same way in builds federal roads.

It's important we avoid making ourselves objects of ridicule in a bid to promote government by all means. The level of praise singing in Akwa Ibom State is becoming sickening and can derail any government. And we are collectively the worse for it.

Omen Bassey.