By Adedapo Adesanya
Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has signed an agreement with the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) aimed to improve electricity supply to Agbara, Lekki and other areas within its operational network.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday in Lagos by Mr Godwin Idemudia, Head, Corporate Communication, EKEDC.
He said the deal was signed recently during a visit of the company’s Chairman, Mr Oritsedere Otubu, to the NDPHC’s office in Abuja.
It said the agreement signed by the two companies was to ensure the improvement and upgrade of certain distribution infrastructure within EKEDC’s franchise area.
According to the statement, it will set the foundation, to ensure the availability of reliable and quality power supply of up to 200 megawatts (MW) to customers within Eko Disco’s network, including tertiary institutions.
The statement said the agreement was in furtherance to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between EKEDC and NDPHC last year in Lagos in the presence of the State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Otubu said the growth of industrial and commercial activities within the company’s franchise area has resulted in an increased demand for power supply.
“We currently receive between 400-450MW from the national grid, and this can no longer meet the present demand of our customers.
“Further, the current drop in load generation has placed us in a tough situation in which we have to carry out load shedding in some parts of our network.
”Hence, we have embarked on this agreement with NDPHC to source for an alternative means of improving power supply to our customers,” he said.
Mr Otubu said the agreement would enable the DisCo to supply more power to the tertiary institutions within its network such as the University of Lagos, College of Medicine, Idi-Araba and Lagos State University to boost academic activities in the schools.
On his part, Mr Chiedu Ugbo, Managing Director, NDPHC, commended EKEDC for its efforts towards finalising the agreement which sets the pace to enable the delivery of the agreed MW via one of its subsidiaries, Alaoji Generation Company Limited.
According to him, this will further enhance NDPHC’s mission of bridging the gap in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), particularly around the generation of electricity.
He said the NDPHC currently had about 4,000 installed MW but was unable to dispatch it effectively due to transmission constraints, hence the extension of its direct relations with the DisCos.
