Ikedc: Lagosians may experience blackout

Some areas under  operational network will experience total blackout for a period of 8 weeks to enable the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) re-conduct its 132KV lines, says IKEDC.

The Chief Technical Officer, Ikeja Electric, Mr. Olajide Kumapayi, made this known at a news briefing on today in Ikeja.

Mr Kumapayi said the project which would begin on Oct. 11 was aimed at increasing the capacity of the transmission lines to wheel more power from the generation companies.

“The TCN is replacing all the aluminum conductors with gap conductors which is more sophisticated to withstand heat and has more capacity to carry current.

“The implication of this is that from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. everyday, the substations controlling these areas will be switched off which will affect the feeders connected to them.

“This will affect all categories of customers within the area especially our Maximum Demand (MD) customers such as Ikeja City Mall, Police College, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and the Ikeja High Court.”

He added that the TCN would also move to Alimosho and Agege axis during the next stage.

Kumapayi noted that the upgrade was a power sector initiative to boost transmission and distribution of electricity to Nigerians.

Also, Mr Felix Ofulue, Head, Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, said the DisCo had written to the MD customers notifying them of the situation.

Ofulue said the company was also meeting with its bilateral power supply agreement partners and appealed to all those affected to exercise patience with the DisCo during the period.

“Even though this is a TCN project, it is our duty to inform our customers of the situation because we are the ones that interface with them on a daily basis.

“We believe it will be for the benefit of our customers at the end of the day and will also allow Ikeja Electric to invest more in our system to improve power supply to customers under our network,” Ofulue said.

Ikeja Electric Plc is the largest Nigerian power distribution company. It is based in Ikeja, capital of the state of Lagos. The company emerged on November 1, 2013 following the handover of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to NEDC/KEPCO Consortium under the privatization scheme of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
There are 6 business unit (BU) offices under Ikeja Electric; which includes Abule Egba BU, Ikeja BU, Shomolu BU, Ikorodu BU, Oshodi BU and Akowonjo BU.