Ibadan Disco blames gas shortage, vandalism for poor power supply

The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company has explained that several factors contributed to the current power supply within its franchise, resulting in disruptions and inconveniences for residents and businesses.

The factors, it said, include low gas supply to generating companies, vandalism, energy theft and routine maintenance works by the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

Newstrends recalls that the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had recently summoned the IBEDC to a meeting over the worsening power supply in its area of coverage, even as he threatened to revoke the licences of non-performing power distribution companies.

In a statement made available to our correspondent on Sunday by the IBEDC spokesperson, Busolami Tunwase, the management of the DisCo said it would like to communicate the issues to foster understanding and reassure its customers of its commitment to finding lasting solutions.

“One of the primary factors is the low supply of gas to generating companies which has led to a gradual decrease in available generation into the grid.  This has significantly reduced the power available on the transmission grid for onward supply to IBEDC, and in turn, greatly hindered our ability to provide power to customers within our franchise, namely Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara, and partly in Kogi, Niger and Ekiti states,” the IBEDC said.

It stated further that scheduled maintenance activities conducted by the TCN in January and March 2024 necessitated planned outages in specific areas of its network.

“While these measures are essential for ensuring the long-term reliability of electricity infrastructure, we recognise the inconvenience they may cause and sincerely apologise for any disruptions experienced by our customers,” the company pleaded.

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The statement noted that vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructure remain major issues that negatively impact power supply.

The IBEDC recalled the vandalism of TCN towers in Ogun State in May 2023, which it said resulted in over seven months of darkness for many of its customers.

“At IBEDC, we are particularly confronted with the escalating cases of vandalism, with over 40 incidents recorded in 2024 alone.

“The theft of valuable assets such as transformer oil, cables, and aluminum conductors pose a significant challenge to our operations, as communities affected are thrown into extended periods of outage depending on the severity of the act.

“Energy theft through illegal connections, metre bypass and illicit metres are also major issues affecting the adequate supply of power to customers because they result in revenue losses and liquidity problems for the electricity value chain. We have also noticed an alarming upsurge, with over 1,450 identified cases of energy theft between January and February 2024,” the statement explained further.

Also, the distribution company identified payment apathy from customers as a major challenge to an adequate supply of power.

It noted, “Unfortunately, across our customer segments, we have different mindsets that electricity is a social service and should not be paid for; some only pay part of the bill, while others don’t pay because they haven’t received their preferred hours of supply.

“To all our customers, our appeal is simple, please pay for whatever hours of supply you have consumed in addition to the outstanding bills to enable IBEDC survive and become sustainable as this is the guarantee for improved power supply”.

Despite these challenges, the IBEDC said it remains optimistic that poor supply will soon become a thing of the past, saying the Minister of Power, Adelabu has taken urgent steps to address the gas supply issue.

“On energy theft and vandalism, we are currently partnering with security agencies to reduce this vice. However, we urge our customers to remain vigilant, protect electrical infrastructures within their communities, and report any suspicious activities promptly.

“We are implementing comprehensive measures to improve and strengthen our infrastructure in order to efficiently distribute the power we receive from the grid.  We are also urgently exploring alternate sources of power to enable us to meet the power supply needed within our franchise,” the firm submitted.

Ibadan Disco blames gas shortage, vandalism for poor power supply