At long last, it appears there are sounds of joy for the community members of Lafia who have been in darkness for over two and a quarter decades.
The residents of Lafia, an area in Northern Nigeria, have been disconnected from the National grid for twenty-four years. Imagine the trauma of a twenty-four-year-old who has lived all his life listening to the disturbing noise from generating sets and not knowing the tranquillity of a generator-less environment.
The absence of electricity was equally felt by the state government and business and residential consumers as the affected area happens to be the state’s capital.
It was a rather painful experience, and one can only wonder why it took twenty-four years for the federal government to connect the community to the national grid. But then again, it is Nigeria, and no turn of events seem to be surprising anymore.
Despite the abundance of resources for energy generation, the electricity sector faces critical challenges around electricity generation and supply. Business operations that require steady electric supply have either resulted in the use of generators, and some others have folded up.
In Lafia, however, there are sounds of joy because the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has finally commissioned a 330/132/3kV, 2x150MVA and 2x60MVA transmission sub-station to transmit power to the community (learn more).