The management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) Plc says it has secured N4.2billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to improve power supply to its numerous customers in Ogun State.
Disclosing this at a stakeholders’ meeting with the representatives of communities on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State, the IBEDC’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr John Ayodele, an engineer, assured the determination of the company to improve electricity supply in the areas.
According to him, the facility would be channelled into building lines to improve power/electricity supply to the communities.
The COO of IBEDC explained that the company has commenced radiating another feeder from the recently commissioned Kobape Transmission Station in Abeokuta to Mowe/Ibafo to relieve the load demand of the area.
Some of these communities include Magboro, Oke Afa, Ibafo, Asese, Pakuro Adesemoye, Olowotedo and Mowe, among others.
Member of these communities had two weeks ago protested openly, accusing IBEDC of poor service, non-maintenance of transformers, arbitrary bills and sometimes intimidation to disconnect residents.
Apart from Kobape Transmission Station, Ayodele disclosed that there was another project going on at Shagamu interchange, saying that by the time all the projects are completed, ‘there is a possibility to supply electricity to Mowe from Shagamu or Abeokuta.
“We are building two lines from Shagamu interchange. At the end of the day, Mowe will have three lines that will terminate at Mowe. That is the mandate that we have,” Ayodele said.
Justifying the essence of the stakeholders’ meeting, the COO said it was organised in order to bring the customers together and talk about the issues that are affecting them.
He restated that contracts for the power projects have been awarded and that people were already on-site working, assuring the September delivery date for the projects.
“The contract was awarded late last year but ran into price variation. The project will be completed by September and energise. We want to separate Ibafo from Mowe. Oke Aro station will feed Magboro and Ibafo, while Shagamu will feed Mowe.
“The issue of three shifts load shedding will end. We are working toward September few things are left. If approval is given to us to entertain their variations, it won’t take much time,” IBEDC’s COO said.
He, however, appealed to the residents to reciprocate the gesture by ensuring that they pay for the electricity consumed.
Contrary to electricity consumers’ speculations, Ayodele stated that 80 per cent of the money collected by IBEDC goes for other services.
“As you pay money, we today buy electricity of N12million, we only collect only N7million. The money we collect is not our money, we only collect a fraction. 80 per cent of what we collect go out for other services,” he said.
Other issues that generated much heat in the stakeholders’ meeting were that of the estimated electricity billing system and the non-issuance of prepaid meters.
One of the community leaders in the meeting, Samuel Olusola Asaolu, queried the company for refusing to give its consumers in Mowe -ibafo axis meters.
Responding, the chief operating officer of IBEDC said the company has lost over N3billion in estimated billing, alleging that people would use everything in their homes and just paid N4,000 monthly.
Besides, he also alleged that many people were rejecting meters due to the fact that they don’t want to pay for electricity consumed.
“We are losing over N3billion in estimated billing because people will put on everything and pay just N4,000. Many of them don’t want to be metered.
“Without metering, there is no business yet. Estimated is just guessing. 97per cent are underestimated only three per cent are under metering,” he said.
To really supply its customers meters, Ayodele said the company will need, at least, one million meters, adding that to do that it would require N60billion.
Speaking on the rejection of IBEDC new load rotation implemented on March 15, 2021, Chief Technical Officer, Akin Abiodun, an engineer, explained that the current load demand from the axis for an equitable power supply is 35 megawatts, but the allocated energy from Oke Aro Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is 13 megawatts.
This, he said was the initial arrangement based on how sparsely populated the communities were, a few years ago.
According to him, the increase in population has created an attendant rise in energy consumption making the 13 megawatts grossly inadequate.
As part of efforts to ensure an even distribution of power supply to the communities, Abiodun said that IBEDC had met and written to the TCN requesting for an increase in load allocation to the axis. According to him, the TCN management, however, explained that all the transformers at the station were already overloaded, but that plans are in place for the upgrade of the substation.
“IBEDC then went further to request for diversion of excess load on another feeder to ibafo 33kv feeder, the request is yet to be granted.
“The feeder is overloaded, and it trips frequently. Frequent tripping of feeders shorten the life of circuit breakers, and this necessitated the need for load shedding methodology that will promote amicable and mutual benefits of our substation equipment and all the communities concerned,” he explained.
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