Electricity supply shortfall to Osun unacceptable – Gov Adeleke

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has said it is unacceptable that the state was experiencing epileptic power supply.

Governor Adeleke also said the situation is beginning to affect the local economy and businesses badly.

The Governor made this known when he met Kingsley Achiefe, the Managing Director of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, recently.

While tasking IBEDC to urgently resolve the crisis of irregular power supply in the state, he also unveiled his power sector agenda.

Addressing the management of IBEDC during the meeting, Adeleke described Osun as a critical stakeholder in the Nigerian power sector with Osogbo hosting the National Transmission Control Centre.

In his words, “Apart from the fact that power outages contribute to growing insecurity, the extortion of customers through transformer procurement, estimated billing that exploits the consumers and inability of some residents of the state to buy energy due to the old metering system is getting too much.

“Osun is already working to enact the State’s Electricity System Law that will enable it to set up a Power Sector Regulatory Agency with a view to ensuring that people of Osun State are properly served within IBEDC franchise areas.

“As a Government, we are already working to enact the Osun Electricity system law. We will be setting up a power sector regulatory agency. We will introduce off grid options and widen alternative energy sources,” he said.

Responding, the IBEDC Managing Director, assured that the firm is also ready to collaborate with Osun State Government with a view to serving their customers better.

“The epileptic power supply in Osun State was caused by the drop in power generation.

“Out of the 1600 megawatts of electricity required to power Osun State, the IBEDC is currently receiving less than 400 megawatts of energy from the generation companies,” he disclosed.

He also identified vandalisation of energy installations and energy theft through bypassing of meters as some of the challenges causing the firm to lose revenue, adding that many of the about 2800 transformers that are in Osun State are old and faulty.