• Bereaved Families Withdraw Corpses From Morgues In Aba • ALPADA Puts Loses At Over N300b

Communities in Aba, Kano, and Kaduna have been thrown into darkness, following the disconnection of substations of Electricity Distribution Company (DISCO) servicing the areas.

In Aba and its environs, the disconnection entered its seventh day yesterday, with bereaved families reportedly visiting mortuaries to claim corpses for burial against earlier planned dates. This is just as mortuary operators have been rejecting fresh corpses.

Also, the Aba Landlords Protection and Development Association (ALPADA) has put business losses at over N300b in the last seven days of the blackout adding there had been deaths on a daily basis, an up-surge of night crimes, and closure of factories.

ALPADA President General, Chief Alphonsus Udeigbo, during a press conference, blamed the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for the blackout, asserting that the TCN ordered the disconnect of electricity to Aba against the provisions of market rules.

Udeigbo said that the 30-business day notice the TCN gave the Aba based APL Electric Company Ltd (APLE) had not expired when the electricity was disconnected, was not complied with on April 19, 2023 to settle its

However, ALPADA had faulted the TCN’s action and as a result on Friday, April 28, 2023, issued a 24-hour ultimatum to TCN to withdraw the disconnection order or expect peaceful protest to its Alaoji Aba Office.

Nonetheless, ALPADA has tasked APLE with issuing appropriate bills for power consumed by its customers whom APLE alleged owed it N4.2b unpaid consumed electricity for the first six months it commenced distribution of electricity which it disclosed procured from the TCN.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has disconnected the power supply to three major substations in the Kano metropolis crippling the distribution of electricity by Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO).

The cut in power supply and distribution has left several communities in perpetual darkness in the last few days with no hope in sight. A reliable source disclosed that TCN was compelled to disconnect the power supply to a section of the Kano region following the refusal of KEDCO to remit the N2b energy bill.

In a disconnection notice written to KEDCO and obtained by The Guardian, the transmission company accused KEDCO of non-compliance to the provisions of market rules and defaulting in the operator’s mandate.

The memo signed by TCN, Market Operator, Dr. E.A Eje, said that the company was instructed to carry out the disconnect of two substations after due diligence, including public notification on dailies indicating the infraction and implication.

Similarly, Officials of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KADEC) have expressed concern over the disconnection of some of the feeders supplying electricity from the power grid by the market operator.

Specifically, the affected feeders are 33KV Abakpa, 33KV Doka, and 33KV Mogadishu. In a statement by the Head of Corporate Communications, KADEC, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, yesterday, said that the action by the market operator is a result of poor remittance by Kaduna Electric and other defaulting players in the market.

He said: “We seize this opportunity to restate that as a company, we prioritise providing reliable and uninterrupted power supply to our customers. However, to maintain this level of service, we require timely payment for the energy consumed.” (The Guardian)

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