EEDC Customers Count Losses As Power Outage Hits Nsukka, Enugu, Aba

Some residents of Enugu State and Aba in Abia State have been counting their losses due to a power outage in some parts of Southeast caused by Tuesday night’s downpour.

Investigations by our correspondent show that many dealers in perishable goods and pub operators are the most affected by the rainstorm that destroyed electricity poles as a result of the rain.

A frozen meat seller, Mrs Nkechi Obiozor, told our correspondent, Thursday, that, “Since that heavy downpour, we have been having skeletal power supplies. It has adversely affected our business. It costs a lot to power our generators to freeze meat. But we have no options, otherwise we lose everything.”

In Enugu, a car washer, Moses, said the downpour damaged his stand. According to him, “The canopy where I wash cars was destroyed. The wall also fell down. It has been terrible. We have been expecting rains, but not to put us in this kind of trouble. In terms of electricity, we have not been getting supplies. I heard that the rainstorm destroyed some poles in Aba and Nsukka. They said they are fixing the affected areas.”

At Emene, Enugu, a pub operator, Mike Ossai, told THE WHISTLER that, “Chilling our drinks has become very hard. The rain storm affected many EEDC poles, from what I was told. I want them to fix this problem quicker so that normalcy can return. We buy a liter of fuel at N170 here. So, it is difficult to break even.”

Meanwhile, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company has said the power outage was caused by poles that were destroyed by the rain at Royal Palm Transformer, Aba-Umuahia 33KV feeder, Aba district, and along Enugu road on Bas 11KV feeder, Nsukka district.

Its head, Corporate Communications, Mr Emeka Ezeh, said the heavy storm affected some parts of Anambra and Imo states, as well as parts of Abia and Enugu states, and destroyed electrical installations within the affected areas.

According to him, “These incidents have put our feeders out on fault, and as a result, we are not able to provide supply to our customers in the affected areas.

“We appeal for understanding of our customers, while we work at addressing the identified challenges and restore power supplies to our customers that were affected by this mishap. We regret the inconveniences this situation has caused our customers, and assure them that supplies will be gradually restored as repairs are completed.”