A new maintenance strategy for Power Holding Company Nigeria to contest the current power demand problem

Abstract

Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), responsible for generating, transmitting and distributing electricity in Nigeria is being faced with an apparent huge maintenance problem which seemingly contributes greatly to the power demand problem of the country. This apparent maintenance problem is investigated by surveying its root causes through interviews, questionnaires and data gathered from selected case studies. Questionnaires were used scientifically with a confidence level of 95% and interval of +-5% and +-4.4% to establish a high level of integrity on data gathered. Findings and deliverables are compared to South Africa’s power utility company Eskom for validation of the final deliverable. With the findings of this survey, the research problem was overcome by developing a new maintenance strategy and work authorization system for the company while making some recommendations on the training being given to its maintenance personnel. The New strategy called ‘Utility Availability Centered Maintenance Strategy’ or UACMS is presented in the form of a flow chart/ block diagram with its different sections fully explained. It mainly combines preventative, predictive and corrective maintenance strategies alongside other modern maintenance techniques. It’s all linked to a computer database support to ensure high effectiveness. Furthermore, the work authorization system called ‘Internal Task Authorization form’ serves to ensure responsibility in task execution within the company. During the course of this research, an excessive application of corrective maintenance strategy, lack of root cause analysis and unavailability of computer based applications were discovered in PHCN.