The Ekiti State Government has rejected the planned two-month power outage by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC.
NewsNow reports that the distribution company had in public notice announced that there would be a two-month power outage in Ondo and Ekiti states following the planned maintenance work on the 132KV Akure-Osogbo transmission line of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN.
Reacting to the development, the Ekiti State government, through its Commissioner for Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Professor Mobolaji Aluko, in a letter dated June 30, 2024, described the planned power disruption as unacceptable, noting that it would cripple economic activities in the state.
The letter was addressed to the MD/CEO, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz; MD/CEO, Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Deolu Ijose; and Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Company (NERC), Shehu Garba.
He said: “Our attention has been called to public notifications, both in print and jingles in English and in Yoruba, of the intention of BEDC under advice by TCN to disrupt power supply to the transmission stations in Akure and Ado-Ekiti and in effect to adversely affect the Ekiti State and Ondo State areas for nine hours each day (8 am to 5 pm) from July 1, 2024, to August 31, 2024.
“No direct notification/communication was made to the Ekiti State Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities (MIPU) on this matter, nor was approval sought and obtained from the Ekiti State Electricity Regulatory Bureau (EKSERB), saddled by law with the full authority to regulate the electricity industry in Ekiti State.
“The planned disruption of electricity for three-eighths of each day for 62 days, amounting to 558 hours and 23 days of outage in these two months, amounts to an unacceptable economic, financial and social price to be paid by the citizens of Ekiti State, and we totally reject such a plan.
“Consequently, we ask for an immediate suspension of the plan, while we call for an emergency meeting with the regional heads of TCN, BEDC and NERC at noon on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at the Office of the Honourable Commissioner, MIPU, The Secretariat, Ado-Ekiti, in order to devise an alternative and far less adverse plan to achieve the same stated aims, namely “to carry out critical maintenance work on the 132KV Akure Osogbo transmission line and the installation of Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) and other activities.”
“We request prompt attention to this matter while we are eager to work collaboratively towards a sustainable solution that will benefit both citizens of the state and the Ekiti State Electricity Supply Industry.”