"STOP ATTACKS AGAINST BEDC"... 46 CSO's Warn.

"Refrain from antagonizing BEDC Electricity Plc and instead follow relevant rules and guidelines governed by clearly cut contract terms".... 46 CSO's Warns.

Against the backdrop of incessant hostility mounted on its operation, electricity consumers in Edo State, especially those hiding under the cover of civil rights advocacy to foist unlawful conducts, and the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki,
have been urged to desist from doing so fortwith or face legal actions.

A group with 46 allied Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Transparency Advocacy for Development Initiative (TADI), Abuja, made this declaration at a World Press Conference addressed by its National Convener, Comrade Solomon Adodo at Abia House, Abuja last Friday.

“We call on the Governor of Edo State to forthwith refrain from antagonizing BEDC Electricity Plc and instead follow relevant rules and guidelines governed by clearly cut contract terms. The issue of power distribution in Edo State should not be unnecessarily politicised”, TADI stated.

“It should be made clear that all DISCOs are firmly protected by the contract terms and conditions under, which they were issued licences and it is on record that BEDC has not in any way breached such conditions”, TADI said further.

According to the group, “we shall resist this evil at all costs in the best interest of sustainable business practice in order not to ward of future investors and / or frustrate the gains made thus far in the power sector”.

On this note, we call on the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) and every concerned regulator to immediately come out and clear the air on the needless controversies being stirred to cripple the BEDC under its current management.

“If we do not get appropriate feedback within seven days of this notice, we shall be left with no other option but to embark on peaceful procession to these offices for the sake of sanity in our power sector”, the group stressed.

TADI said that as stakeholders, the federal government has representation on the board of respective DISCOs and it is totally at its discretion to appoint whoever she deems it fit to represent her interest in the DISCOs, saying further that “it is not the DISCOs that determine who federal government appoints as her representative contrary to what some naysayers would have us believe in the case of BEDC”.

“It is empirical to note that the respective DISCOs can only distribute the amount of power sold to them by NBET based on the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) allocation allotted each DISCO. Thus contrary to wrong assertions, DISCOs are not allotted power based on what their respective states generate but as determined by NBET using the MYTO allocation system. It added.

TADI disclosed that it has identified with “patriotic disenchantment the consistent, brazen and expertly contrived attempts by certain unpatriotic elements to sabotage the dexterous efforts of BEDC to supply power to Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti States.

These findings, according to TADI indicated that the entities have launched media and physical attacks on BEDC and primarily bent on destroying the corporate reputation of BEDC on one hand and discredit the federal government’s roadmap for power stability.


BEDC Update To Customers In Benin City On Power Supply Situation


The Management of BEDC Electricity Plc. (BEDC) wishes to further publicly update its customers in Edo State (for the records) on the facts relating to the power situation in Benin City, Edo State, especially those who were affected by the disruption in power supply to some areas in Benin city, caused by the failed on November 7, 2018 of 60MVA power transformer T21 used by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to wheel electricity to some major feeders in Benin city.




For the records out of the three TCN transformers wheeling power to BEDC for distribution to its customers in in Benin City, two failed in quick succession between September 24th2018 and November 7th 2018, with reasons for the failures widely publicized before now. It should be noted that BEDC sells/distribute power to it’s customers in its franchise locations (Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti State) based on what is sold to the company from the TCN grid. Upon the failure of the two out of the three TCN transformers, TCN commenced worked assiduous to sort out the inconveniences that this dual failure caused by arranging for replacement transformers- with the first of the two transformers being made available to BEDC for power distribution on 24th Dec 2018.




In the meantime as a stop gap measure, BEDC immediately restored power supply at an average of 6hours daily availability to most of the affected areas, by connecting several of the customers on the affected feeders to the only existing functional TCN transformer in a manner that did not overload the system and to provide supply albeit on limited basis, pending when normal supply will resume, after the replacement of the faulty TCN transformers.  BEDC also immediately commenced construction of new extending electrical lines from three different locations outside Benin to pull more power temporarily in Benin City.


We are pleased to inform our customers that based on the concerted effort of both Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), BEDC in conjunction with several well-meaning Nigerian stakeholders (including Ministry of Power, Edo State Government, the Irrua Community, some key stakeholders in  the Senate, Federal House of Representative, Edo House of Assembly and several supportive customers in Edo State) one of the TCN replacement transformers which was taken from Irrua have subsequently been put to use with electricity supply commencing from this source  to the affected Benin City areas as from the last week in December 2018 as shown below:

POWER  SITUATION IN BENIN METROPOLIS    [ PRE  and POST  FAILURE OF T21, T23, 60MVA AT BENIN TS ]

BEDC 11KV BENIN CITY FEEDER

NAME OF THE STREETS AND AREA AFFECTED

AVERAGE AVAIL (HRS) AFTER PRIVATISATION AND PRE-TCN TRANSFORMER FAILURE

AVERAGE AVAIL (HRS) POST-TCN TRANSFORMER FAILURE   {07.11.2018}

AVERAGE AVAILABILITY AFTER CHARGING SILUKO LINE FROM OKADA {10.12.2018}

PRESENT AVERAGE AVAILABILITY (HRS)  [ AFTER COMMISSIONING TCN TRANSFORME T23 ]  [26.12.2018]



IHAMA

IHAMA RD. GIWA-AMU, GRA, GAPIONA AND ENVIRON.

15

15

6

15



DUMEZ

DUMEZ RD, MARIA GORRETTI RD, EWEKA AND ENVIRON.

12

12

6

12



ETETE-COMMERCIAL

MD CUSTOMERS IN ETETE AXIS

24

24

24

24



UGBOR

UGBOR RD, IDUSOGIE, GUOBADIA, ETETE, AND ENVIRON

12

12

6

6



UP'SAPELE

ETETE, U/SAPELE RD, EREDIAWA, POLE STREET, AND ENVIRON

12

12

6

6



OGBA

IRIRI, EBO, EVBODIA, ELOMO, UTAGBAN,EFIONAYI AND ITS ENVIRONS

12

0

0

12



OKO

OKO ADP, PART OF IRIRI, OKO OGBA AIRPORT RD AND ITS ENVIRONS

12

0

0

12



OBA-PALACE

OBA-PALACE RD, VEGETABLE MARKET RD, AIRPORT RD AND ENVIRON

12

12

6

12



GRA

IJAGBODUDU, GOVERNOR SIDE, OGHARA-EFE COMM. OGHARA-MARKET.

15

15

9

12



RESERVATION

GOLF COURSE RD, AKENZUA, EKEWAN RD COLLEGE RD, AIRPORT RD, GRA  AND ENVIRON

12

12

6

12



AIRPORT COMMERCIAL

MR BIGS,HALL MARK,KADA PLAZA,EDO LIBRUARY,HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY,BENINI CLUB,CBN,BENIN AIRPORT,PRESTIGE HOTEL,LILI HOSPITAL AND ITS ENVIRONS

24

24

21

24



ANDREW-WILSON

PZ RD, SAPELE RD, GODWIN ABBE, LIMIT RD, AND ENVIRON.

12

12

6

6



COUNTRY HOME

COUNTRY HOME RD, UGBOR RD, ABUJA QTRS, UU DRIVE, STELLA OBASANJO WOMEN & CHILDREN HOSPITAL AND ENVIRON.

12

12

6

6



EKAE

EKAE, EVBUABOGUN, EVBUOMOMA, EVBUKU, KILOMETER 8 SAPELE ROAD AND ITS ENVIRON.

12

12

6

6



ARUOGBA

EVBUODIA ,EVBUIYOBA,OGUNMWONYI,EVBUOVBIOBA,PARTS OF IRHIRHI,OGBA,EBO AND ENVIRON.

12

12

6

6



EKEWAN

EKEWAN RD, OGBE-IBUYA, AERODROME CLOSE, EREDIAWA RD, AND ENVIRON.

12

0

6

6



UPPER OWINA

UPPER SAKPONBA RD AND ENVIRONS.

6

0

6

6



ASORO

ODION, OGIEMUDIA, EGBON ESTATE, ABAIGBE, EKENWA AND UGBYEKU COMMUNITY

6

0

6

6



EVBUOTUBU

EVBUOTUBU RD, IKPEA RD, USE, UAGHOGBO

6

0

6

6



UPPER SILUKU

U/SILUKORD, USEH, COOLEST AND ENVIRON

6

0

6

6



UWELU

USELU, MEDICAL, EDAIKEN, BTC RD AND EVIRONS

6

0

6

6



EDO-TEX

EDOTEXTIL MILL RD, AGHEDO STREET, EVBAREKE QTRS, TV/WEST CIRCULAR RD AND ENVIRON.

6

0

6

6



OLIHA

SILUKO RD, OLIHA QTRS, EGHOSA, ERHUMWUNSE, OGUOLA STREET AND ENVIRON.

6

0

6

6



EGOR/ OVA

EGOR VILLAGE,

12

0

6

6



FEEDER 1

MM WAY, EWA RD, IGBESAMA TO SLOPE.

9

0

6

6



FEEDER 2

ALONG 2ND, NEKPENEKPEN, MISSION RD, NEW BENIN.

9

0

6

6



FEEDER3

ALONG SAKPONBA RD, RING RD, PART EKENWA RD, STADIUM RD.

9

0

6

6



FEEDER4

1ST, /2ND, PART OF SAPELE RD, EWEKA AND ENVIRONS

9

0

6

6



UP' SAKPONBA

U/SILUKORD, USEH, COOLEST AND ENVIRON

9

0

6

6



MARIA GORRETI

GORRETI RD,PART OF UPPER SAKPONBA RD, PART OF DUMEZ RD.

9

0

6

6



FACTORY RD

ST. SAVIOUR RD AND UMELU

9

0

6

6



ST. SAVIOUR

JESUS CHRIST RD,POLICE STATION, AVBIAMA AND EVIRONS.

9

0

6

6



MBH

ALL MD CUSTOMERS IN UGBOWO

24

0

12

12



OKHORO

OKHORO RD, FEDERAL RD, PART OF MEDICAL AND EVIRONS

12

0

0

6



LAWANI

UPPER LAWANI RD AND ITS ENVIRONS

12

0

0

6



COSTAIN

NEW  BENIN MARKET, UPPER MISSION,COSTAIN AND ENVIRONS

12

0

0

6



EGBA

OKUNWAGWE, PART OF UPPER SAKPONBA, NOGUEBEN,IDOGBO, EGBA AND ENVIRONS

12

0

0

6



33KV KOKO

ALL CUSTOMERS IN BENIN SAPELE ROAD AXIS UP TO OLOGBO RIVER  [ 33kv koko feeder is charged from Oghara TCN  on 25.12.2018]

12

0

6

6




Power availability in several locations is thus now restored to between 12 and 24 hours, based on the normal load management schedule. The remaining areas still on between 6hour and 9 hours will gradually be normalized as we progress with the BEDC new construction and the restoration of the TCN second transformer.




We have recently been advised by some well-meaning customers in Edo State that over the past three months, continuous attempts are being made by some miscreants (especially those illegally consuming power) to use the temporary failure of the TCN transformers and the temporary reduction in power supply as a means to continuously create politically related disturbances by conducting various demonstrations on the streets of Benin within the coming days/weeks, including sabotaging and vandalizing various power supply locations. We have also been contacted by some well-meaning customers in our other franchise states (Delta, Ondo and Ekiti) who have advised that some of such persons are being mobilized from these neighboring states with financial inducements to join in the politically motivated demonstration.

We wish to use this opportunity to advise all our customers to resist such inducements and report all known cases to law enforcement agencies and BEDC to enable protection of the electricity infrastructure and systems.





It should be noted that all large power generation in the various locations in Nigeria (including Azura Power in Edo State) are contracted and sold directly to the national grid (not directly to the local community), with the eventual sale to the 11 distribution companies in Nigeria being made from this collective pool. For the record, and in dispelling false rumors that BEDC is not taking up its share of power allocation, it should be noted that, in 2018 BEDC purchased an average of 9.4% of power available on the national grid, higher than the allowed 9% statutory allocation. The distribution of the purchased power since privatization, had Edo State enjoying the highest power supply availability amongst the four States in the franchise area. The data before the failure of the TCN transformers for 9 months ending September 2018 is as shown below:


Location

Average monthly Supply (MW)

% Share

Edo State

127.31

43.43% of BEDC supply

Delta State

113.03

38.56% of BEDC supply

Ondo State

34.16

11.65% of BEDC supply

Ekiti State

18.61

6.35% of BEDC supply

Total BEDC

293.11

9.4% of national grid




Power supply to Ondo and Ekiti States have been limited by TCN related challenges which are gradually being addressed.



Supply of this electricity to our 5 segments of customers (Industries and Companies; Small scale enterprises businesses; Government locations including street lights; communities; and residential customers) is further distributed based on the state of existing infrastructure as well as the payment culture of the related customers.




BEDC as a responsible electricity distribution provider is determined to continuously ensure that an enabling environment is created through continuous improvement in power supply to facilitate growth of businesses and in the quality of lives of customers in all its franchise locations, including Edo State.



Whilst thanking all our customers for their patronage in 2018, we wish you all a HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR






Signed

Management

BEDC…… committed to serving you better