Matthew Onocheta
The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has outlined steps to resolve the 10-year power outage challenge in Iwo road – Lalupon communities in Ibadan.
IBEDC’s officer in charge of the Technical Unit, Christopher Lawal, announced this while addressing journalists on Wednesday.
Lawal said part of the measures to be taken would include, but not limited to, placing 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.
He explained that there would be 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.
The official added that Odo ori 11kv feeder will be converted to a 33kv feeder between an estimated period of eight to nine weeks as the medium-term solution.
He emphasised that IBEDC has held numerous meetings with community leaders to explain the situation and explore solutions.
Lawal said that, in the long run, the construction of the 33Kv substation project in Lalupon, funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), would completely resolve the ongoing power supply challenges in the area.
“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.
“As a customer-centric company, we are deeply concerned about the supply situation. As such, we have held over 10 meetings with the leaders of the communities to explain the situation. These meetings underscore our commitment to resolving these issues and improving service delivery,” he added.
The residents of the communities, had on Monday, staged a peaceful protest to the IBEDC office and Oyo State government secretariat in Agodi, Ibadan, where government representatives promised to intervene in the matter.
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