Power generation drops by 1,080mw as Egbin shuts

LINK  The NATION

Power generation in the country dropped by 1,080 mega watts on Tuesday due to the shut down of the Egbin Thermal Station.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Egbin Power Station was shut on Tuesday around 3.50 p. m.
The station contributes about 1,080 mega watts to the national grid.
 A senior official of the PHCN, who preferred anonymity, told NAN in Lagos yesterday that all the facilities at the power station were shut.
The source said the hydro component of the power station, called the “bi-minerasation plant” and, which had been poorly maintained over the years, caused the collapse of the entire station.
He said the power station was shut when it could no longer generate power, adding that lack of spare parts was the major challenge facing the plant.
“The failed hydro plant has been repaired several times and because the plant is obsolete, getting the spare parts has become a challenge.
“We have been managing the plant for over 40 years. When it breaks down, it takes about five days for it to come up again,’’ the source said.
He said the station often took time to come up whenever it went down, noting that it would take up to Saturday before the station could work again.
He said PHCN officials were in Abuja, working towards resuscitating the station.
A correspondent of NAN, who visited the station, confirmed that the station had been shut and the workers seen idling around.
The station is the biggest power-generating plant in the country with installed capacity to generate 1,320 mega watts.