Expert Explains Power Challenges At Lagos Airport

An expert in electrical engineering and Head of Electrical Department of Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, Engineer Abdulrahman Musa, has explained reasons for power challenges faced at the Airport.
Musa who explained the current power challenges faced at the airport when the media team from the Corporate Affairs Department of the MMIA paid him a fact finding visit, said that the airport power problem was due to ageing of infrastructure.
He noted that the MMIA was built over three decades ago with a network of electrical equipment and facilities that have been servicing the airport and its environs since 1979.
“What are consequently playing out presently is the long-term effects of ageing on the facilities and equipment. There are three sources of power at the MMA. They are the primary, secondary and tertiary sources.
“The Primary source of supply is public power and this source is supposed to be the most dependent, reliable and effective of the three sources.
“The other two sources are only supposed to be back ups in case of any failure from the primary source. This is why the DISCO always gives priority to power supply at the airports in line with International best practice.
“Unfortunately, the national power generation and distribution system also has its own challenges. The activities of militants in the area of pipeline damaging particularly in the Niger Delta has led to drastic reduction in the volume of gas available for powering the generation plants across the country.
“The cumulative effect of this development is the genesis of the power challenges at the airport, as the primary source is no longer dependable and reliable”, he said.