Benin DISCO defends one-week power outage

By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

The management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has clarified on one-week power outage in some parts of Edo State.
The State Head of the company, Fidelis Obishai at the weekend said the outage was occasioned by faulty transformers allegedly belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Obishai urged residents in Benin City, the State Capital to show understand.
He explained that the TCN lost its 60MVA transformer on September 24, a development he said affected three major 33KV feeders belonging to the BEDC and connected to Ikpoba dam injection substation, Evbuotubu/Egor and Sapele road/Koko feeders.
He also noted that the distribution company had to introduce a load-shedding plan with a six-hour rotation and moved the affected customers to other feeders in order to restore power.
He said, distorted the already established “predictable” power flow arrangement in some parts of Benin.
When contacted, the spokesman for the Benin Region of the TCN, Mr. Rufuss Imafidon, said he was not authorised to speak on the matter.
However, Obishai said, “When it happened, we were thinking that it was a one-day or two affair. As I speak to you, the transformer is still out of circuit. I cannot even tell when that transformer will be coming back to service.
“The best option we needed immediately was to rearrange our light distribution. So, we had to come up with a load shedding plan because if I do not rotate the loading, I would overload the transformers.
“So, what we did was to spread out our load so that instead of those customers affected to be out (of power) for 24 hours a day, they are sure of getting, at least, 12 hours in a day. Those who were enjoying the 12 or 18 hours arrangement are affected by this.”
The state head, however, lamented that only 360 megawatts of power accrued to the Disco, as against the 800mw desired to cater for its over 800,000 customers in Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti.
He said, “But despite our efforts, the customers do not know that it is not our responsibility that they do not have supply. But what we get from the social media and other sources is that BEDC has thrown Edo State into a blackout.
“It is important to state that I can only give what I get. So, the impression that the BEDC threw Edo State into a blackout is not correct.”