The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has revealed that some Nigerians have been calling on him to “slow down” with the recent improvement in electricity supply because their freezers are now running continuously.
Tegbe made the disclosure on Wednesday, September 16, while speaking at the commissioning of a 3-megawatt solar hybrid power project at Yakubu Gowon University, formerly known as the University of Abuja.
According to the minister, some areas that previously went for months without electricity are now enjoying up to 18 hours of supply.
“Places that didn’t have light at all for three months are now having 18 hours light. Some areas called me to say, look, I should slow down, that everything in their freezer is freezing. That is what freezer is meant to do. Let it freeze the food that needs to be frozen.
Tegbe recalled that during his Senate screening, he had promised that Nigerians would begin to notice significant improvements in electricity supply within three to six months.
However, the minister acknowledged that the power sector still faces major infrastructure challenges, noting that some of the country’s electricity infrastructure is more than four decades old.
“Some of the infrastructure we have in the electricity and power sector are more than 40 years old. We’re systematically replacing them, phasing them out and bringing new ones,” he said.
