• Decries activities of vandals, saboteurs in power sector
• Makinde to sign electricity regulation bill into law
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, yesterday, said that electricity distribution companies (DisCos) were to provide transformers to communities instead of putting the burden on customers.
Adelabu said that supply of transformers should be part of infrastructure investment of the power companies, emphasising that the practice of communities buying transformers must stop.
The minister gave the directive during a working visit to the headquarters of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Adelabu said: “On infrastructure, that is transformers, the popular thing now is that communities contribute money to acquire transformers. This must stop. It is the responsibility of distribution companies to provide infrastructure and distribute transformers to communities as part of their investment so that performance will improve.
“I want to emphatically say that IBEDC as a distribution company must be ready to provide transformers where they are needed. But the government will not leave you to shoulder it alone. As part of the 2024 budget, we also have plans to intervene in acquiring meters for communities that require them.”
The minister also directed that estimated billing must be cancelled therewith, saying: “Our metering gap is still wide. Our metering is very important to collection and liquidity.
“We are also tired of estimated billing. With estimated billing, someone is cheating someone. We are looking at the possibility of cancelling estimated billing.”
However, the minister said that his ministry had got the support of President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, to enable it deal with vandals and saboteurs working against improvement in power supply and vandalising power facilities.
Adelabu, who also decried the level of vandalisation of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) by nefarious saboteurs across the country, said the engineering and repositioning of the sector being embarked upon by the current administration was not exciting to the saboteurs who are making money from the menace.
He said this during the inspection of the 46-year-old Ayede sub-regional station in Ibadan as part of his working visit.
Adelabu charged members of staff of the station to support the President’s administration in its renewed hope agenda, as well as expose anybody found in the habit of sabotaging the efforts of the power sector.
Besides, he also charged members of staff of the sub-station to be committed, saying that their efforts would be rewarded.
He added that he would institute a compensation and motivation scheme among power stations where the best three would be rewarded.
MEANWHILE, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, yesterday, said that he would soon sign the Electricity Bill into law to ensure adequate power supply in the state.
Makinde gave the assurance when Adelabu paid him a courtesy visit at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan.
The governor, who congratulated the minister on his appointment, declared that the state government would take full advantage of the newly-signed 2023 Electricity Regulation Law, saying that his administration would sign the state’s version of the law as soon as the House of Assembly passes the bill into law.
Makinde, who expressed his government’s desire to work together with the minister and his ministry, also hinted that the 10 megawatts Independent Power Project his administration embarked upon in his first term would be commissioned in weeks’ time.
