The Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has come under fire from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for allegedly deceiving the public about power outages in certain areas of Edo.
According to a statement released on Sunday in Benin by TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s maintenance work was unrelated to the blackout that BEDC’s 33kV customers had to endure.
Recall that on March 14, BEDC used its social media platform to assert that TCN’s repair operations were to blame for the power outages in Sapele, Abraka, Ugelli/Shell, and industrial districts.
According to Mrs. Mbah, TCN simply asked for a scheduled outage at the Amukpe Transmission Station on March 11; this was accomplished the same day, and electricity was restored. She emphasized that electricity delivery to BEDC customers was unrelated to TCN’s maintenance.
”TCN wishes to address the publication by Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) on its social media platform, dated March 14, that TCN was responsible for the blackout, which was not true”
“The announcement by BEDC’s inability to deliver power to its 33kV customers to TCN’s maintenance activities was not true.”
“For clarification purposes, TCN only applied for a planned outage on March 11, at the Amukpe Transmission Station, which was completed on the same day, and bulk power supply was restored.”
“Contrary to BEDC’s claims, TCN’s maintenance activities did not cause the power delivery issues experienced by BEDC’s customers, ” Mbah said.
The general manager claimed that the sole accurate information in BEDC’s publication concerned the 33kV feeder T1 60MVA at Ughelli/Shell, which tripped off on March 14 as a result of a malfunction.
Mrs. Mbah revealed that TCN was attempting to get the impacted feeder’s bulk power supply back up and running. She emphasized that BEDC’s 33kV feeders were the cause of the power distribution problems in every other place they cited in their release. She stressed that facts should be made transparent for the benefit of stakeholders and advised BEDC to avoid misrepresenting information to its clients.
Mrs. Mbah reaffirmed TCN’s commitment to ensuring that all customers have access to dependable and efficient electricity transmission throughout the nation.
