House Summons NERC, BEDC over Seven Years Blackout in Delta

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The House of Representatives has summoned the management of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) over seven years power blackout in Mosogar, Edjemuoyavwe and other affected areas in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State.

The House also urged the NERC to be up to their responsibilities of supervising and ensuring that distribution companies all over the country don’t continue to thrive in deceit and rip off of consumers.

The resolutions of the House were sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance moved at the plenary yesterday by Hon. Ben Rollands Igbakpa.

Igbakpa said for about seven years, major parts of Ethiope West, particularly Mosogar and Edjemudarho communities, have been in total blackout as a result of total failure by the BEDC to discharge their duties in the distribution of power/electricity to the affected areas.

He said that the BEDC promptly collected bills from customers but whenever there are technical issues or faults requiring their attention to fix their assets such as transformers, cables, poles etc. under their management and control, the company abandons and or abdicates such responsibilities by compelling the customers to fix such faults or provide money to purchase it.

Igbakpa stressed that effort at procuring transformer (step-down) from the BEDC since 2015 did not yield fruit.

He added that in 2016, the BEDC in one of its memo to the community as a condition to bring a step-down transformer that could service the increase demands of electricity in the community due to expansion requested the communities to pay all their outstanding debt, which amounted to over N12 million.

Igbakpa stated: “Despite the prompt payment thereof, the BEDC brought a substandard transformer with low capacity to the community and barely two days after its installation the transformer gone off.

“Similarly in 2018, the state government brought another step down and this was reluctantly and improperly installed by the BEDC and immediately got damaged.”

The lawmaker noted that the community approached the Delta State Government again sometime in 2020 and two units of 2.5 KVA transformers were approved for Mosogar and were divided into two sub-stations.

Igbakpa noted that at the time the project was completed, the BEDC refused to energise the step downs but demanded for a reconnection fees of N10 million, which was paid by the community but shortly after the BEDC installed the transformers, they crashed again.

The lawmaker expressed worry that the leaders of the affected communities have made several efforts to work with the BEDC including payment of millions of Naira to provide solution, yet no result as the BEDC has either failed, refused and or neglected to creditably perform it responsibilities but have continued to rip the communities/consumers of millions of Naira through their illicit demands.

The House resolved: “Invite the management of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for proper interaction to ascertain the root cause(s) of the perennial lack of or total failure of electricity supply and or distribution to Mosogar, Edjemuoyavwe and other affected areas in Ethiope West LGA of Delta State with a view to finding a lasting solution.”

Meanwhile, the House has also called on the BEDC to restore electricity supply to Enuani clan in Delta State.

The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion moved by the Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, at the plenary yesterday.

Moving the motion, the lawmaker said Enuani is a clan in Delta State comprising of Olodu, Olloh, Ewulu, Isheagu, Isikiti, Ukwu–Oba, Umute, Aba–Unor and Adonte communities.

Elumelu noted that as a result of the dilapidation of a 33KVA line, the electricity supply was cut off in Enuani clan and other communities nearby, thereby leaving the entire community in perpetual darkness for almost two decades.

The lawmaker stressed that the lack of electricity for almost 20 years has led to untold hardships on the residents in the affected communities, thus inhibiting development.

He added that appeals made by the people to BEDC and the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) to restore electricity to the area by including the 2.5MVA line that has a substation at Ewulu fell on deaf ears.

The lawmaker expressed concern that the BEDC had encouraged stakeholders living in the affected communities to rehabilitate the 11KVA line attached to the area to fast track fixing of the 33KVA line, which the community stakeholders complied with and spent N4 million to rehabilitate the line, only for the BEDC to renege on their part of the deal.

Elumelu lamented that the continuous disconnection of electricity supply to the communities has not only caused untold hardships to indigenes, but would also bring set back and give neighbouring communities developmental edge, hence the need for urgent intervention. The House, therefore, mandated the Committee on Power to interface with the management of the BEDC and Rural Electrification Agency on possible ways of restoring electricity supply to the affected areas.