Ekiti govt seeks building of 330kv substation to boost power supply

In a bid to resolve the inadequacies on electricity supply in Ekiti State, the state government has called on the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to build a 330kv power substation in the state.

The government also urged the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to make available to people of the state prepaid meters so as to guard against the incessant complaints by electricity consumers over irregular billing.

The Commissioner for Public Utilities and Infrastructure in Ekiti State, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi stated this while speaking to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

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He revealed that neighbouring Osun, Ondo, Kogi and Lagos states had their substations, noting it was an act of injustice for the state to be denied.

The former lawmaker  added that  lack of the facility had  caused acute supply of electricity of 20 megawatts to Ekiti from the national grid, instead of the required 200 megawatts that could stabilise the state’s economy.

According to him, “We are having  challenges because we have no full control of how electricity is supplied, it is private -driven. The focus of the DisCos is to make profits, but we have to be fair to our people as well.

“One major bottleneck we have identified has been inadequate allocation of power from the national grid. We are getting 20MW which is grossly inadequate to distribute to the people. The BEDC has been sharing the little.

“We are requesting the TCN to build 330kv power substation in Ekiti. Some states have more than one. Only Ekiti  lacks the facility. We consider this an act of injustice. If this is made available in the state, we won’t be taking power from other neighbouring states.

“In our last meeting with the BEDC, we tabled our demands and part of it was the provision of prepaid meters to our people to resolve issues of irregular billings. They promised to do that in a couple of weeks.”