Enugu Residents Groan As Total Blackout Enters 6th Day

Residents of the Trans-Ekulu axis of Enugu have cried out to the management of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to restore their power supply as the outage enters the sixth day. Some of them who spoke to THE WHISTLER said that they were surprised that the last Saturday’s deadline given by the electricity agency was not realistic.

Monica Mama, a seller of vegetable at Trans-Ekulu, said, “When EEDC told us that the power supply would be restored last Saturday, we heaved a sigh of relief believing that the promise was genuine. Unfortunately, it was a fluke. It’s now about seven days since the power was cut, and still counting.”

A beer dealer at Ugbo Odogwu, one of the affected areas, told our correspondent that, “It is no more a joke. The power cut has drained my business. Running any business under this fuel price hike is too expensive, and without any profit. This EEDC has continued to be our major problem. They are not sensitive to our plight.”

Meanwhile, the electricity agency, Monday, apologized for its failure to live up to its promise in supplying light to the affected areas last Saturday. Emeka Eze, head of corporate communications, EEDC, in an apology letter, stated that, “The failure is a result of unforeseen circumstances which have affected the completion of the power transformer upgrade going on at the Trans-Ekulu injection substation, which affected Dhamija 11kv and Phase Six 11kv feeders.

“Consequently, as a way of cushioning the impact of this outage on the affected customers, arrangement has been made to back-feed the affected areas from an alternative source, while it is hoped that the exercise will be completed before Thursday, September 17, 2020.”

Eze said the upgrade of the 7.5MVA power transformer to 15MVA, when completed, would increase the capacity of the substation from 2 x 7.5MVA to 1 x 15MVA and 1 x 7.5MVA, which would ‘greatly improve the service quality to our customers within Dhamija and Phase Six axis’.

According to him, “We, therefore, appeal for the cooperation and understanding of our customers at New GRA, St Mary, Dhamija, Upper North, RCC Quarters, Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Sani Abacha, Ugbo Odogwu and Agu-Abor, and assure them of better and improved services once this exercise is completed.”

He added that the exercise was part of EEDC’s efforts in improving its infrastructure and the quality of services to her esteemed customers.