Let me confess frankly here: Nigeria’s 11 Electricity Distribution Companies(Discos) have largely been vilified over their not impressive services nationwide.
But from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) Performance lndex data, and personal experience on ground, it seems the lbadan Electricity Distribution Company (lBEDC) stands out in this league of the Discos’ poor performers.
Evidently, from lbadan, Abeokuta, Ilorin, Oshogo,Oyo to ljebu-Ode, Sagamu and Sango-Ota, a common thread runs like a ring as regards what lBEDC truly represents.
Like the now defunct National Electric bill Power Authority(NEPA),many residents have coined the same old acronym for NEPA:Never Expect Power Always,for IBEDC.
This sorry state of IBEDC’s sloppy services are evident in its obvious aloofness and indifference to the plight of residents of the four states – Oyo,Ogun,Osun,Kwara- which it superintends over.
On daily basis,residents relive tales of woes about how their businesses have gone comatose following the absence of power for periods running into several weeks or months .
Even petty artisans barbers, hairdressers, tailors, mechanics,etc- have equally dumped their trades for lack of electricity ,and have opted for menial jobs to eke out a living.
They also justify their action since their jobs rely primarily on electricity which has become a luxury to come by.
For instance,in the Sango Ota,ljoko axis of Ogun State, only those on what you call 33 KVA lines,enjoy a few hours of electricity,sometimes for three to four days.
And for the unfortunate residents under the 11KVA lines,they have been subjected to endless black out.
Theirs is a case of few minutes flash of light ,then followed by agonizing weeks of no electricity at all.
The unending and escapist tale one hears always is the same: the transformer has broken down again.
You ask,how come that the transformer(s) cannot function a full day unhindered by unexplained faults.?
Often times too,like the common practice among the Discos,when such unconvincing transformers’ faults occur ,you see Community Development Associations’ (CDAs) executives go into action by collecting ‘repairs levies’ to fix such malfunctioning facility,or else such communities will remain in darkness as long as only God knows when.
And guess what too?At month ends,the ubiquitous IBEDC workers invade such communities, harassing both post paid and unmetered consumers, to pay for power they seldom consumed
Of course ,the haplessly cowed ‘consumers’ are usually left with no option than to mop up some funds to avoid the wrath of these ‘debts’ collectors.
Also,as some residents hinted recently,as far as the lBEDC is concerned, its priority is to service its 33KVA consumers optimally, because they are its cash cow, than to bother about the 11KVA consumers who generate lean revenue for them. Such less vital consumers are usually unrepentantly left to lick their wounds.
For instance,only a few days ago, power was restored to the Sango/ ljoko area for a few hours after a two week blackout, but like the feelers one got, the ‘honey moon’ is now over,and the no power beat has ,sadly, resumed.
Still, one has been wondering why a state like Ogun with its large industrial/ manufacturing hub shouldn’t take advantage of the Electricity Act 2023,to unbundle the state from the suffocating grip of this underperforming electricity distribution firm.
Truth is Ogun State needs to take urgent lead in this direction to tap into the gains of powering its Sango -Ota Agbara,Sagamu industrial/ manufacturing hub for better economic prosperity.
Unless lBEDC improves on its services,to continue to rely on its monopolistic to power the state, is like waiting for Godot- a forlorn hope!
One thinks that now is the time for Ogun State to bid a crawling power company a most welcomed goodbye!.
Mr Emmanuel l. Nwagboniwe is a journalist
