Victor Ezeja
Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) has stated that the planned power outage which began on October 11 in some parts of Lagos within its network, raises no cause for alarm as it would not be a full-day blackout during the period.
This clarification came in response to a statement credited to a group known as Save Lagos Group (SLG) which stated that IKEDC should expect no payment from customers for electricity services not supplied in the affected areas for the period of the outage.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe group which insisted on the policy of “no light, no pay,” alleged that what consumers in the state pay is not commensurate with the electricity services rendered, adding that before the power outage, people were not having an adequate power supply.
SLG offered to take action on behalf of customers over issues of abnormal billing for electricity supply by the discos.
But, Head of Corporate Communication, IKEDC, Felix Ofulue, in a chat with Prime Business Africa, stated that customers in the affected areas should not worry.
Ofulue explained that the cause of the outage was due to an upgrade of electricity infrastructure being carried out in the designated areas, which he said lasts for only 10 hours during day time.
He said, “I don’t think there is any cause for alarm. The infrastructure upgrade will happen between 8 am and 6 pm daily. Thereafter, supply is restored between 6 pm and 8 am. The upgrade is part of interventions to improve the power supply in our network. So I don’t think there is any need for any group to get confrontational.”
He said the affected areas are within Ikeja, Magodo, Ojodu, Ogba, and Oregun axis.
On the issue of payment for electricity services not supplied, Ofulue explained that customers only pay for electricity supplied in line with data of power consumption recorded in the metres.
“Customers will only pay for what they consume. The transformers are metered so that data will be captured,” Ofulue stated.
The Chief Technical Officer, IkEDC, Olajide Kumapayi, had on Monday 27 September, announced that there would be an upgrade of some 132kv power lines by Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in order to boost power supply.
Kumapayi had also pleaded with electricity consumers in the affected areas to endure the period of the blackout, which is slated to last for eight weeks.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
