No fewer than 444 communities, spread across the 18 Local Government Areas of Edo are without electricity, Yekini Idaiye, the State Commissioner for Energy and Water Resources has said.
Idaye made the disclosure in an interview in Benin on Saturday. He said from the figure, 157 communities were yet to be connected to the national grid. The commissioner explained that about 32 of the communities were disconnected by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company while 145 communities had faulty transformers. Idaiye, in addition, said another 110 communities required network rehabilitation.
But in a swift reaction, the BEDC denied ever disconnecting any community in the state and expressed doubt that over 440 communities were without electricity in Edo. The Company’s Chief State Head, Fidelis Obishai, said that issues of decaying infrastructure are age-long and was inherited by the utility company.
He stated that the BEDC which had since taken over the asset and liability of the defunct PHCN in November 2013, had carried out, and is still carrying out, network rehabilitation as well as changed no fewer than 150 transformers in Edo alone.
Source:Â The Eagle
