Again Nigerians may witness blackout as national grid might be shutdown due to another strike action.
National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has raised alarm over plans by the Federal Government to sell the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), while lamenting that the sale of Distribution Companies has brought nothing but woes.
Speaking at the TCN substation in Kaduna on Thursday, the Union warned against privatisation of the TCN, urging Nigerians to reject the proposal as it would not bring any good, while noting that the sale of Discos in 2013 has not added a watt to the 5,000MW being generated, nor a kilometer to the network and has not in anyway improved the generators in Kainji, Shiroro and Jebba as the generating, transmitting and distribution companies remain the way they were nine years ago.
A report on blue print reveals that the Vice President of NUEE, North West Zone, Comrade Ado Ga, said it was time Nigerians rise up to fight against plans that could impede the progress of the country, “just like we kicked against the sale of the distribution companies in 2012 and we were called names, we want to raise alarm again that there are plans to sell the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and we would kick against such plans. Our strike was only suspended for two weeks which had elapsed but we kept quiet because we believe that talks are ongoing.
“National Union of Electricity Employees in has kicked against the privatisation of electricity in Nigeria. Since the privatisation of PHCN or distribution companies nothing has changed, the old 5,000MW being generated is still 5,000MW; the investors have not added anything to the distribution network; but tariff has increased. After nine years of privatisation nothing has changed, no enabler has been added. The privatisation of distribution companies has not made any progress the next plan is to privatise TCN but we would not allow that to happen.”

Speaking on the 16 months electricity workers unpaid salary that led to the suspended strike, the Vice President, who was flanked by the NUEE Zonal Organising Secretary, Comrade Bukat Ayuba Barde, and Comrade Chidi Nwachukwu, said the privatisation of Discos was planned to take place in 2012 but was not completed until on November 1, 2013, 16 months after, adding that the accruing salaries of the over 55,000 PHCN workers for the 16 months is what they are fighting for as many of the workers have died in the process while a lot more are undergoing untold suffering.
“Those disengaged are suffering, the investors have refused to pay them. The money left for them is no longer forthcoming the 16 months short pay remains unaddressed. The beneficiaries are living from hand to mouth. Some of them have died and their dependants are unable to make ends meet. The current Minister of Power was a signatory in 2019 to the agreement asking BPE to pay but the payment was not made till now. The transformers are obsolete, the transmission lines are the same way for the past 35 years,” he said.
