Why parts of Ibadan are experiencing power outage — IBEDC

The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has attributed the recent power outages in some parts of Ibadan, Oyo State, to the lockdown of the Ayede Transmission Station by the Oyo State Government.

The lockdown, according to a notice by the IBEDC on its official Facebook page, had made it difficult for its technical team to obtain the necessary guarantee pass to address faults on the Lanlate, Interchange, and Express 33KVA feeders.

As a result, the statement held that feeders and communities that experienced power outages included Eagle Flour, Lina Oil, Bat/New Age, Frigoglass, Podo, Soka, Odo Ona Elewe, Challenge, Boluwaji, Best Oil, Black Horse, and Aramed Feeds.

Affected communities include Idi-Ayunre, Molete, New Garage, Toll Gate, Challenge, Ijebu-Ode Road, Oloruntumo, Omi Adio, Podo, Boluwaji, Ido, Ilaju, Orile Ilugun, and the entire Ibarapa zone.

Confirming the development to the Nigerian Tribune, the spokesperson for the IBEDC, Busolami Tunwase, said it had to let out the statement as it could not get the needed pass to fix faults and work on feeders due to the lockdown of the Ayede Transmission Station.

Speaking, she said the IBEDC could not get the needed pass to work from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which, she said, was best positioned to speak about the reason for the lockdown.

Tunwase said: “You would have to call the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) about the lockdown. The only reason we sent out the post telling our customers about the situation is because we cannot access the areas that we need to.

“If there is any fault, we’ll not be able to get the pass. You know it’s a value chain; you can’t just start working on feeders. You need to get a pass from TCN to be sure that everything is well. So, we couldn’t get that.”

Speaking on the situation, the Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mr Dotun Oyelade, said the state government had been in long-standing negotiations with the IBEDC over the issue of unpaid bills.

He said the state government was keen on an amicable resolution of the issue, as all parties involved are expected to fulfil their obligations.

Oyelade said: “The state government has been in negotiations with IBEDC for a long time over unpaid bills.
“As it stands today, plans are afoot to resolve the issue amicably, while the government expects all sides to do the needful.

“It is uppermost in our minds that our people do not suffer innocently.”

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