Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe has said some Nigerians have asked him to “slow down” improvements in electricity supply because their freezers are now running continuously.
Speaking on Wednesday, September 16, at the commissioning of a 3-megawatt solar hybrid power project at Yakubu Gowon University, formerly the University of Abuja, Tegbe said some areas that previously experienced prolonged power outages were now receiving up to 18 hours of electricity daily.
“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,” he said.
Tegbe recalled that during his Senate screening, he promised Nigerians that noticeable improvements in electricity supply would begin within three to six months.
The minister, however, acknowledged the challenges facing the power sector, noting that some of the country’s electricity infrastructure is more than 40 years 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.
