- IBEDC says lack of funding stalls resolution of blackout in Ife
- The replacement of the faulty transformer costs ₦90 million
- State House of Assembly summons IBEDC
The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has stated that the 5-month long power blackout in Ife, Osun state is due to a faulty transformer. IBEDC also stated that the failure to resolve the problem was due to the lack of funding to replace the faulty transformer. The transformer, according to the utility, costs ₦90 million to replace.
The Osun State House of Assembly had summoned IBEDC to explain the cause of the prolonged blackout. The Osun Regional Head IBEDC, Mr Akin Ogunleye, had explained that the situation was beyond its ability to resolve. He added that IBEDC was faced with financial challenges impeding its ability to replace the faulty equipment.
”When we were contacted on the power outage, we got to work thinking that it was a minor thing that we can fix only to find out that the coil of the transformer had gone bad,” Ogunleye said.
”The bill we got for the repair of the transformer was around ₦28 million to ₦35 million, and experience has thought us that it is not the best to repair but replace with a new one which is in the region of ₦90 million which IBDEC cannot afford,” he added.
The Speaker of the House, Hon. Timothy Owoeye urged the Assembly to work with IBEDC to resolve the issue. He asked IBEDC to come up with a template for the solution to the problem.