Residents of Lekki Conservation Estate, Lagos State, protested on Saturday against what they described as an epileptic power supply in the area, stating that the development has continued to affect families and businesses negatively.

This is even as the Eko Electricity Distribution Company assured that there would be improved power in Lekki following the unveiling of a transformer by the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

The residents, under the umbrella of Lekki Conservation Estates Development Association spanning Orchid Road and Environs, lamented that despite numerous engagements with the EKEDC for over three years, there has been unreliable power supply in some areas.

Addressing newsmen shortly after a demonstration in the area on Saturday, the residents condemned being kept in darkness by their utility company.

The President of LCEDA, Osas Aire, explained that despite having about 200 estates, and over 5,000 homes and businesses within and around the Orchid Road axis, they were being neglected.

He appealed to the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, the Lagos State Government, the Transmission Company of Nigeria and EKEDC to find a permanent solution to the problem.

Airen said, ?We have been having conversations with EKEDC bordering on poor power supply since 2020, yet it has been a topsy turvy. At a point, the Federal Government came in with a willing-buyer-willing-seller programme into which we keyed. After a while, it was dismantled; and after that, the electricity situation worsened.

?Over the last two years and a half, we have been having a series of engagements with the EKEDC, more than 15 meetings, yet the power supply has been abysmal. Not just that, while we were on Band A, we were given Band Z services. After expressing our frustrations, we were moved to Band B, yet we hardly had two hours of power supply daily A. This has been ongoing for over two years.

?We are appealing to the NEMSA, Lagos State Government, TCN, and EKEDC. From what we gathered, TCN has not been able to give us the requisite size of transformer needed to power this neighbourhood. All we want is a dedicated line. We are prepaid customers, we pay before using. Therefore, we do not owe EKEDC. What we are asking for is equity, justice and fair play. Businesses have crumbled. For the Lafiaji community, there has been no power for over two years.?

Also, the Vice President of the association, Bode Akinwande, demanded that a new transformer brought should be energised for residents? use.

?We are pleading with EKEDC to give us what we want so that businesses can thrive, and homes can enjoy electricity. At the moment, what we get is less than two hours daily. We are pleading that the new transformer brought in be energised,? he pleaded.

On his part, the Chairman of Cooplag Gardens Estate Resident Association, one of the estates in the Orchid Road axis, Oloso Saheed, lamented, ?We are being treated with levity and disdain by EKEDC. We have been cooperative with EKEDC, yet they don?t appreciate our cooperation. EKEDC has cost us a lot of money in my estate. For example, from the occasional voltage fluctuation to sudden high voltage after a long power outage, we didn?t get up to 10 hours per day on average in November with a power outage for weeks in many instances.

?I am not happy with EKEDC?s Performance, and the entire Cooplag Estate is displeased with the power situation, so much so that people are leaving our neighbourhood to go to places with better power stability.?

The General Manager, Corporate Communications of EKEDC, Babatunde Lasaki, could not be immediately reached for his reactions.

But in a statement on Friday evening, Lasaki said Lekki customers would now experience improved power supply as the TCN has successfully installed a 1?60/75 MVA 132/33KV power transformer at the 330/132/33kV Lekki Transmission Substation in Lagos State.

According to him, the upgrade was completed on December 19, increasing the substation?s capacity from 120MVA to 195MVA, to enhance electricity distribution efficiency in the region.

?This development enables the Eko Electricity Distribution Company to offtake a larger volume of bulk power, directly benefiting residents and businesses in the Lekki axis. Customers can anticipate more reliable electricity with reduced outages and improved voltage stability, positively impacting daily life and business operations,? the statement added.

Lasaki expressed his optimism in terms of improving the power supply to Lekki and its environs.

He said ?We are glad that our transmission partners have completed this project that will bring about a huge relief to our customers in the Lekki-Ajah axis and hopefully our customers will start feeling the impact of this project instantly as we aim to ramp up our offtake to better service our customers in multiple ways.

?We appreciate the timeliness of this commissioning and commend TCN and the Federal Government for these interventions.?

The EKEDC boss added that the commissioning is part of a broader modernisation effort funded by the World Bank, aiming to strengthen Nigeria?s power infrastructure and support economic growth.

He noted that by enhancing the capacity of the Lekki Transmission Substation, TCN and EKEDC are working collaboratively to meet the?increasing electricity demands of Lagos communities. (Saturday PUNCH)

Update news