Abuja Disco blames current load shedding on lower energy allocation from TCN   

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) on Thursday made a public defence of the reasons behind the load shedding that is currently being experienced in its franchise area, blaming it on the drop in load allocated to it by the system operator at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The company’s explanation is coming on the heels of the recent drop in power supply to its customers in its area of operation, which include the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger states.

In a statement issued in Abuja by Ahmed Shekarau, its head of media and public relations, AEDC explained that with the recent drop in electricity generation occasioned by shortage in gas to the power plants, the quantum of energy made available to it from the national grid fell far short of what it had been receiving a few months ago.

The Company stressed that when there is limited power available to it, load shedding to its customers in the FCT as well as other states in the company’s franchise area become inevitable.

It however appealed for the understanding of its customers over the recent developments, assuring that it had never failed to distribute any load allocated to it by the system operator since November 2013 when the current management of private investors took over the company from the government.

Explaining further in the statement, AEDC said it had often taken load in excess of its allocation every month in order to meet customers’ demand.

“When there is extra load in the system, we have always taken it in order to ensure that we meet the demands of our customers”, the statement read in part.

Reiterating its appeal to the customers, the company assured that it would continue to optimise its load shedding to ensure that all its customers were given fair consideration in the distribution of energy allocated to it.