IBEDC to reconnect Oyo community after 10 years

Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, on Wednesday, rolled out alternative measures to resolve the issue bordering on the continuous disconnection of power supply to the Lalupon community in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, after 10 years.

The PUNCH reports that residents of the area had on Monday staged a peaceful protest to the company in Ibadan.

The IBEDC’s officer in charge of the Technical Unit, Christopher Lawal, who addressed newsmen, explained that part of the ongoing measures taken by IBEDC include but not limited to 65 per cent of customers on the feeder, who are currently receiving supply, with 40 transformers on load shedding while exploring options to back feed some of the remaining distribution substations from an alternative feeder.

Lawal said, “Other measures being put in place are the New Asejire to Lalupon quick wins and extensive use of isolators with the existing network arrangement within a timeline of three weeks as well as cascading of load between feeders within a timeline of four weeks.”

On the medium-term solution, Lawal said Odo Ori 11kV feeder would be converted to 33kV feeder between an estimated period of eight to nine weeks.

The engineer emphasised the commitment of the company in engaging with the community, and has earlier held numerous meetings with local leaders to explain the situation and explore solutions.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by these challenges and are using this medium to assure our customers that every effort is being made to expedite the completion of the 33kV substation project and restore full power supply to Lalupon community and its environ community.

“As a customer centric company, we are deeply concerned about the supply situation, as such we have held over ten meetings with the leaders of the communities to explain the situation.

“These meetings with community leaders underscore our commitment to resolving these issues and improving service delivery,” he said.

Also speaking, the Coordinating Head, Corporate Services, Angela Olanrewaju lamented that despite the award of the 33KV substation project in Lalupon, funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria as part of the IBEDC-PIP CBN CAPEX PROJECTS–2023, the project was pending due to the awaited CBN financial intervention.

In his brief remarks, the Oyo Regional Head, Olumide Akinmusire, assured them that all hands were on deck to improve on the company’s services while deliberate actions are already being put in place to ensure more efficiency in its operations.