Ekiti Government Condemns TCN And BEDC’s Proposed Two-Month Power Outage

Ekiti Government Condemns TCN And BEDC’s Proposed Two-Month Power Outage....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The Ekiti State government has demanded an immediate halt to the planned two-month power outage that would affect the state. In a statement, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Public Utility, Mobolaji Aluko, called the planned power disruption unacceptable and too high a price for residents to pay.

Aluko urged an immediate suspension of the plan and requested an emergency meeting with stakeholders to find an alternative solution. This stance came in response to the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN) announcement of essential maintenance on the 132kV Akure-Osogbo transmission line, which would lead to power outages in Ondo and Ekiti states for nine hours daily from July 1 to August 31.

The Commissioner highlighted that the state government was neither informed nor involved in the decision-making process by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) and TCN.

In a letter dated June 30, addressed to the MD/CEO of TCN, the MD/CEO of BEDC, and the Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Company (NERC), the government rejected the power disruption plan, citing significant economic, financial, and social costs to Ekiti State residents.

The letter further emphasized that the Ekiti State Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities (MIPU) and the Ekiti State Electricity Regulatory Bureau (EKSERB) were not notified or consulted. The planned outages, totaling 558 hours over two months, were deemed unacceptable by the state government.

The letter called for an emergency meeting with the regional heads of TCN, BEDC, and NERC on Tuesday, July 2, at the Ekiti State Government Secretariat. Aluko stated that this meeting would help stakeholders devise a less disruptive plan to achieve the same maintenance goals.