IBEDC identifies 50% power allocation as cause for poor electricity delivery

Adejayan Gbenga

The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has cited its 50 per cent electricity allocation from the national grid as the major reason for its inability to meet consumers’ energy needs.

This was disclosed to journalists by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Tunde Afolabi, during a press conference held on Tuesday in Ibadan.

According to him, inadequate power allocation from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) remains one of the major challenges confronting the distribution company across its coverage areas.

He explained that IBEDC can only distribute the electricity supplied to it, stressing that limited allocation has significantly constrained service delivery to consumers.

“One of our biggest problems is that we receive just 50 per cent of our power demand. We can only give what we get. However, efforts are underway to address operational redundancy and revive unused generation assets,” Afolabi said.

As part of the ongoing measures to improve power supply and service efficiency, the chairman noted that the company plans to purchase electricity directly from generation companies, while also revealing that the new management intends to reactivate dormant power plants within its operational areas in order to boost electricity availability.

Afolabi further noted that frequent national grid collapses have also contributed to disruptions, asserting that whenever the grid fails, electricity distribution activities automatically shut down.

In addition, he emphasized the need for improving generation capacity, stating that generation capacity and diversifying supply sources are critical to stabilising electricity distribution.