TCN, BEDC disagree on electricity supply problems in Delta communities

TCN, BEDC disagree on electricity supply problems in Delta communities

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has denied claims by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) that its maintenance activities were responsible for BEDC’s inability to supply electricity to its 33kV customers in some parts of Delta State.

The denial was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by the TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah.

The statement was in reaction to BEDC’s March 14 social media publication, which linked power supply disruptions to maintenance work by TCN.

According to the statement by BEDC on Friday, the areas affected by power supply shortages include Abraka Commercial, Industrial Commercial, Ughelli/Shell, Sapele (Sapele), and Abraka.

The BEDC statement read in part: “Service Level Shortfall: March 14th 2025:

“Dear Valued Customer, We sincerely apologize for not meeting up with the required minimum service level of 20 hours on the feeder below.”

The distribution company listed the aforementioned areas and blamed TCN maintenance for the supply issues in these areas.

However, the transmission company clarified that it had only conducted a planned outage on March 11 at the Amukpe Transmission Station, which was completed the same day, with the bulk power supply restored immediately.

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“Contrary to BEDC’s claims, TCN’s maintenance activities did not cause the power delivery issues experienced by BEDC’s customers,” the statement read.  

TCN acknowledged that the only accurate part of BEDC’s statement was the tripping of the Ughelli/Shell 33kV feeder T1 60MVA on March 14 due to a fault, which TCN is actively working to resolve.

However, it maintained that all other areas BEDC cited as experiencing power issues were affected by faults on BEDC’s 33kV feeders.

“The only accurate statement in BEDC’s publication was regarding the Ughelli/Shell 33kV feeder T1 60MVA, which tripped due to a fault on 14th March 2025. TCN is currently working to restore the bulk power supply to the affected feeder.

“It is essential to note that all other areas mentioned by BEDC in their release, experiencing power delivery issues, are a result of faults on their own (BEDC’s) 33kV feeders. TCN urges BEDC to please provide accurate information to its customers, stating facts as they are, for the benefit of all stakeholders,” the statement read further.

“TCN remains committed to ensuring efficient and reliable transmission of electricity nationwide,” the power distribution company concluded in its statement.  

The transmission company urged BEDC to provide accurate information to its customers and avoid misrepresenting facts.