In a resolute effort to boost the local economy and propel industrial development through the robust growth of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Ekiti State, Governor Biodun Oyebanji has commissioned the extension of the 132/133 KVA power substation from Omisanjana in Ado Ekiti to reconnect Ikogosi-Ekiti and other communities back to the national grid after years of power outages.
He also urged Ekiti citizens to protect all public utilities in their domains to safeguard government infrastructure from being destroyed.
The Governor emphasised that his government would not tolerate the idea of towns being left in perpetual power outages for a period of 15 years.
He described this as a potential danger that could cripple businesses and increase the poverty level in the state.
Oyebanji stated that the 33KV electrification project, covering a 19km radius and stretching from the 132 KV TCN Sub-Station at Omisanjana to connect Erijiyan and Ikogosi-Ekiti, needed protection to spur business activities along that axis.
Describing electricity supply as an impetus and a major boost to the growth of SMEs, Oyebanji highlighted that this view accounted for why the government places a high premium on reconnecting towns experiencing lingering power outages across the state.
He lamented that a town housing one of the state’s business concerns was without power supply for years.
He emphasised that connecting the town back to the national grid would boost the water bottling company as well as the tourism potential of the area.
According to him, “for us, electricity is a critical infrastructure in our Ekiti development agenda. It is indeed the circulatory artery through which the Ekiti industrial agenda can be kept alive.
Without power, any talk of industrialization remains an empty wish. It is for this reason that we made it a major priority in our Six Pillars of Administration.
“When we came on board, the power infrastructure audit of the state indicated that many communities had been without electricity for many years, ranging from 6 to 15 years.
We also noticed that a critical factor that had bedevilled Ikogosi Warm Spring and Resorts and the Gossy Bottling Company was the absence of a sustainable power supply.
Without connecting these facilities to the national grid, it would remain a mere pipe dream, making the venture unprofitable.
“In our bid to find a lasting solution, it was observed that there was a 140MVA transformer at the 132KV TCN Sub-Station at Omisanjana, Ado Ekiti, out of which only an 80MVA transformer was being utilised, while the 60MVA transformer was underutilised due to the lack of a corridor to evacuate the energy to.
“To fully utilise the 140 KV supply to the Sub-Station and to proffer a lasting solution to the electricity supply challenge in the industrial and tourism zone of Ikogosi-Ipole-Iloro, we constructed a 5 kilometre-long 33 KV line from the Sub-Station at Omisanjana to Baptist High School, Ado Ekiti, to link the Ilawe line.
“From Ilawe, we constructed another 14-kilometer-long 33-kV line to Erijiyan Ekiti.
In addition, we also rehabilitated an existing 33KV line from Erijiyan to the Ikogosi industrial and tourism zone to energise the Ikogosi town, the resort, Gossy Water Company, and the Ipole-Iloro line.
“With this, the 140 KV supply from the national grid, which was hitherto underutilised, is now fully put to profitable use.
With the completion of this project, the targeted communities are already enjoying improved power supply in this zone.
“I wish to urge our people to see all public infrastructure within their communities as their property and to jealously guard and protect them from vandalism. They must also be prepared to pay for electricity usage.”
The Governor added that, apart from the improved standard of living for the people of the area, the economic benefits to the people are enormous.
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