By William Emmanuel Ukpoju
In a recent turn of events, the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has come forward to address the confusion surrounding its inability to provide consistent power supply to its Band A customers.
Contrary to previous reports attributing the disruption to faults at the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN) substations, BEDC has issued a clarification.
According to BEDC’s statement released on April 12, 2024, the outages experienced on April 11 were due to issues within its own network. The Amukpe 33kV feeder was affected by an instantaneous earth fault caused by stormy weather, leading to a power trip at 2:31 pm. Power was restored after the weather cleared, with the feeder back online by 4:08 pm.
Furthermore, the Effurun 33kV feeder also encountered an earth fault on the outgoing feeder upriser, resulting in a trip at 12:25 pm. The restoration efforts for this feeder are ongoing, with the fault located at the BEDC DisCo end.
Ndidi Mbah, the General Manager of Public Affairs, emphasized the importance of accurate information dissemination, saying “this report is to set the records straight and to appeal that facts be stated as they are for the benefit of all”.
The clarification aims to rectify the misinformation and ensure that customers are aware of the actual causes behind the power supply issues.
Valuechain reports that BEDC’s commitment to transparency is evident as it takes steps to improve communication and address the underlying problems to prevent future disruptions.