Rainy season: Eko DisCo advises Ibeju-Lekki residents to prioritise safety

… cautions against building structures under power installations

Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko DisCo) has urged residents of Ibeju-Lekki and surrounding communities to exercise heightened safety awareness during the rainy season, emphasising critical precautions to prevent electrical accidents and ensure a reliable power supply.

The advisory came during Eko DisCo’s recently held customer engagement forum in the Ibeju district, where the acting CEO, Mrs. Rekhiat Momoh, represented by Chief Finance Officer, Joseph Esenwa, addressed an impressively large turnout of business owners, Community Development Association (CDA) leaders and community representatives.

Esenwa, strongly cautioned against building or erecting structures under or extremely close to power installations to avoid the risk of electrocution.

He highlighted additional safety concerns including illegal electrical connections that compromise system integrity, vandalism of Eko DisCo installations affecting service delivery, and building directly above underground electrical cable which poses serious safety hazards.

“We will encourage everybody please don’t build under wire lines for safety reasons. There are standard regulations regarding safety and building under high tension lines and we must all comply with the prescribed distances before construction,” Esenwa, emphasised.

The CFO assured residents that Eko DisCo is implementing extra measures to ensure safety during the rainy season through increased maintenance schedules for cables and poles, enhanced vigilance on installation integrity and prompt response systems for customer-reported faults.

Customers were encouraged to report any electrical faults they observe to the district’s customer service for immediate maintenance attention.

In a demonstration of Eko DisCo’s commitment to customer satisfaction, most complaints regarding faulty meters and transformers presented at the forum were instantly granted replacement orders by the CFO, to the elation of customers and their community representatives.Notably, six transformers were immediately ordered for energisation after repair, providing relief to communities that have been experiencing power challenges.

Chairman of the Lekki Estate Resident and Stakeholders Association Infrastructure Maintenance Committee, Wale Aderoju, praised the ongoing engagement, noting over 85 percent satisfaction at the meeting.

“We continue to cooperate with Eko DisCo to achieve desired service levels while ensuring our communities act as watchmen against vandalism,” he stated.

The forum, also addressed the persistent challenge of energy theft, with Esenwa acknowledging it as “a huge problem” requiring continuous monitoring and enforcement of Commission-approved sanctions.

Joseph Idinye, representing Destiny Homes, emphasised community cooperation in combating energy theft: “When somebody is stealing electricity and others look the other way, weall suffer for it. Any tendency to steal electricity is to our own detriment.”

Head Project, Technical Services, Ovie Oghenekaro Adjekpiyede, provided updates on ongoing infrastructure projects, including a new Federal Government-awarded substation project for the Ibeju-Lekki area, Elemoro substation expansion to receive additional 8MW capacity by end of 2025, and enhanced power stability initiatives covering communities from Awoyaya to Lakue.”We are working assiduously to ensure reliable power supply is sustained in the Ibeju-Lekki are through strategic partnerships with Federal, State, and Local Governments,” Ukoh stated.

The forum highlighted Eko DisCo’s multi-tier complaint resolution system, enabling customers to escalate issues from district level to higher authorities when necessary.

Customers were also informed about bandwidth verification processes and payment plan options to ensure continuous service.

As the ember months is here with increased power consumption for ceremonies and celebrations, Eko DisCo reiterated its commitment to safety and reliable service delivery while calling for continued community partnership in maintaining electrical infrastructure.

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