By DOUGLAS OKORO

Residents and business operators in parts of Abakaliki have raised concern over the three-month-long power outage that has thrown their areas into darkness.

Some of the affected persons, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki, on Tuesday, described the situation as ?unbearable? and urged the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to urgently restore supply.

The blackout has crippled social and commercial activities in Urochukwu, Chukwuma Ofoke, Obaji Streets, Ebebe Junction and parts of Ogbaga Road.

NAN investigation revealed that the outage followed the breakdown of the Udemezue 11kv transformer at Urochukwu Street in May due to overload.

Since then, electricity consumers connected to the transformer have had to contend with darkness.

The development has hit businesses hard, with restaurants, hotels, fashion outlets, salons and drinking joints counting huge losses.

Many operators said they now spend a fortune on fuel to power generators in order to sustain their businesses.

A restaurant operator at Ebebe Junction, Mr Michael Ani, appealed to EEDC to hasten repairs, saying the three-month outage had ?wrecked businesses and inflicted untold hardship on us?.

?It?s been a horrifying experience staying without light for almost three months now and no word from EEDC.

?Businesses are badly affected and I pray this does not extend into the ?ember? months, otherwise many businesses will be grounded,? Ani said.

A cellphone repairer, Mr Elias Nwaiwu, lamented that most of his customers had deserted him.

?You cannot repair phones properly without electricity.

?Depending on generators means charging extra, but customers are not willing to pay more. Many prefer to go elsewhere,? Nwaiwu said.

Similarly, a barber at No. 4 Urochukwu Street, Mr Chris Iteshi, said that reliance on generators had reduced his daily income.

?Before, we charged N500 per haircut with public supply. Now, because we use generator, we charge N1000.

?Due to the economic hardship, many customers go to places where light is available to pay less. It?s been very tough,? he said.

A housewife, Mrs Sylvia Onwe, said that many families now suffer food wastage because they could not preserve their food.

?Without refrigeration, soup and perishable foods spoil easily; families are suffering so EEDC should sympathise with us,? Onwe said.

A worker at the Cardinal Hotels located at No. 58 Ogbaga Road, who pleaded anonymity, lamented the huge cost of operating diesel engine for power and called on EEDC to urgently restore the public power supply.

The residents explained that each building connected to the faulty transformer contributed about N20,000 for repairs but claimed that work had been very slow and accused EEDC of insensitivity.

They further threatened to embark on a civil protest in the next one week, if supply was not restored.

When contacted, the EEDC Business Manager for Abakaliki District, Mr Cyprian Nwankwo, said that the repair had been concluded and that the transformer was currently undergoing test.

Nwankwo appealed to the residents for more patience.

?The process of repair is almost concluded. The transformer is undergoing test, by the time it is finished, it will be reconnected,? he said.

He commended the residents for their endurance since the outage assuring them that light would soon be restored to the area.

Meanwhile, efforts made to get the othe Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Emeka Ezeh, could not be reached for comments. (NAN)

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