Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) said that it received 240Mega Watt (MW) from the national grid instead of about 900MW required by the company to serve Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states.
The electricity firm in a statement by Chief Corporate Service Officer, Kunbi Labiyi, explained that the under-supply was responsible for the load shedding among customers in the four states.
Labiyi added that some demonstrators who besieged the company understood the challenge when these facts were presented to them “and realized there was no basis for their demonstration.”
She said the Load shedding arrangement by the company is a result of inadequate power supply and was further occasioned by the reduction in generation leading to a drop in the allocation from TCN to BEDC.
According to her, Presently, BEDC receives 240MW from the national grid to cover Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states, which is far lower than what the four states need. BEDC currently has capacity to take three times the power provided.
Edo state enjoys the 44 percent of the amount received presently, while 56 percent is shared by the Ekiti, Ondo and Delta States.
In Edo State, several locations receive between 10hours and 23hours power supply, with the least availability being 6hours. This is far higher than the average in most States in the country. We are not in a position to increase this as this will further marginalize the other three States.
By Yemisi Izuora/Ijeoma Agudosi