ASABA- DELTA State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has said that residents in the state were reluctant to pay electricity bills and sometimes get hostile with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC, because of epileptic power supply.
Okowa stated this, Monday, when he played host to the chair of BEDC, Mr. Victor Osibodu, who led the management team to him at Government House, Asaba.
The governor, who called for community sensitization on the current state of power distribution in the state, said, “There is a need for our communities to be sensitized on your activities because the various communities over the years pay bills and do not receive any power supply.”
“So they need to be enlightened that you are something different than what has been perceived, we have sometimes seen communities get hostile because they believe that the services will never come after they have made payments,”
He said that the current power distribution of 140megawatts to the state got was quite inadequate and called for better power distribution to all parts of the state.
His words “This state since 1999 has invested a lot in distribution networks and I hope that that will be an advantage for us, but the figures for distribution which is between 100-140megawatts is quite alarming because it is a far cry from what we need .”
The governor asserted, “We hope that in the coming years, things will improve because Delta State is strategically located to do a lot more in terms of power generation and we are hoping that we become a hub in the future.”
He said that security agents were making serious efforts to tackle power vandalism experienced in certain communities in the state.
Senator Okowa, however, commended BEDC for its speedy distribution of power to the state despite its critical challenges and gave assurance of the state government’s support.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Osibodu stated that the company has put in place strategies for sufficient distribution of power to communities in the state.
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