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The management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc (IBEDC), on Sunday, said several factors contributed to the recent blackout in its franchise areas.
The affected states include Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara and partly in Kogi, Niger, and Ekiti states.
One of the factors identified to be responsible for the state of power according to the management, is an alarming upsurge in energy theft with over 1,450 identified cases of energy theft between January and February 2024.
Incessant blackouts in the affected areas have resulted in disruptions and inconveniences for residents and businesses with many residents lamenting the effects of current heat waves on them due to lack of electricity.
IBEDC in a statement made available to newmen in Ilorin by the Corporate Affairs Manager, Olori Busolami Tunwase on behalf of the management on Sunday stated that “one of the primary factors is the low supply of gas to generating companies (Gencos) which has led to a gradual decrease in available generation into the grid. This has significantly reduced the power available on the transmission grid for onward supply to IBEDC, and in turn, greatly hindered our ability to provide power to customers within our franchise, namely Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara, and partly in Kogi, Niger, and Ekiti states.
“Secondly, scheduled maintenance activities conducted by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in January and March 2024 necessitated planned outages in specific areas of our network. While these measures are essential for ensuring the long-term reliability of electricity infrastructure, we recognize the inconvenience they may cause and sincerely apologize for any disruptions experienced by our customers.
It also regretted that “vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructures and payment apathy from customers remains a major issue negatively impacting power supply .”
“Despite these challenges, we remain optimistic that poor supply will soon become a thing of the past as Hon Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu has taken urgent steps to address the gas supply issue.
“On energy theft and vandalism, we are currently partnering with security agencies to reduce this vice, however, we urge our customers to remain vigilant, protect electrical infrastructures within their communities, and report any suspicious activities promptly. We are implementing comprehensive measures to improve and strengthen our infrastructure to efficiently distribute the power we receive from the grid.
“We are also urgently exploring alternate sources of power to enable us to meet the power supply needed within our franchise”, the statement added.
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