14 February 2014, Lagos – The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), the two companies covering Lagos State and some parts of Ogun State have blamed the current inadequate electricity supply to shortage of gas supply to the generation companies, limited capacity of the national grid, and sabotage.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the two companies acknowledged the inconveniences caused by the current power situation, saying they regretted the strain on the lives and businesses of their customers.
“We wish to thank our esteemed customers for their support and patronage since we began the process of building the foundation for a future of effective and sustainable power supply on November 1, 2013. We acknowledge the inconveniences caused by the current power situation and regret the strain on the lives and businesses of our customers. The situation which is being experienced across the nation is due to the short-fall in gas supply, grid limitations and sabotage of the system,” the two companies said.
The statement, however, assured customers of both EKEDC and IKEDC that the two companies were working tirelessly to ensure that the allocated power was equitably distributed to them.
According to the statement, the two companies are also working with relevant bodies and agencies charged with generation and transmission of power to ensure the journey towards the era of sustainable, effective and stable supply is achieved soon.
The statement added that the two companies had started making necessary investments towards strengthening their distribution networks for seamless and efficient power evacuation from the grid and subsequent delivery to their customers.
“We are working in conjunction with our technical partners to come up with a robust metering system that will serve customers effectively. This system will eradicate the complaints of estimated billing and check energy theft being perpetrated by people tinkering with the pre-paid meters.
The power sector requires an overhaul of existing infrastructure, investment in new technology and capacity- building to enable us move to a position of stable power supply and we are making the required investments to make it happen,” the statement added.
– Ejiofor Alike, This Day
