Mainpower Electricity Distribution Limited (MEDL), the subsidiary of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, has announced the reduction of electricity to some parts of Enugu state.
In a statement on Monday, the company said the reduction is due to drop in electricity supply it receives from its parent company (EEDC) which it blamed on the reduction of electricity tariff of Band A customers from N209 kilowatt hour to N160 by the Enugu Electricity Regulatory Commission (EERC).
It said the reduction has been occurring for the past 4 days.
Recall that EERC had made the reduction with the claim that the Disco is making over N15bn profit from the current price it gives customers to pay.
The move, however, drew condemnation from the federal government and industry expert who said state governments do not have power to regulate price of electricity generated from the national grid.
In the statement Mainpower said: “This inform its esteemed customers in parts of Enugu State who have been experiencing power outages over the past four days that the situation is due to a significant drop in energy allocation from our parent company, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC).
“This development is a result of the recent issuance of a new Tariff Order to Mainpower by the Enugu Electricity Regulatory Commission (EERC). The Order reduced the tariff for Band A customers from N209.50/kWh to N160.40/kWh.
“Upon receipt of the Tariff Order, MEDL, by obligation, promptly updated EEDC (our energy supplier). After analyzing the implications of the new tariff, EEDC concluded that implementing it would result in a monthly loss of over N1 billion, which makes it impossible for EEDC to meet her obligations to the Market.
“Consequently, and to mitigate these losses, EEDC made the difficult decision to reduce the volume of energy supplied to MEDL. This has unfortunately resulted in MEDL receiving only about 50% of its usual energy allocation, significantly affecting our ability to serve some of our esteemed customers.
“It is important to clarify that MEDL does not receive electricity directly from National Grid. Instead, we rely solely on EEDC, which holds the vesting contract agreement with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET), the organization responsible for electricity bulk trading.
“We deeply regret the inconvenience this situation has caused our valued customers. Please be assured that discussions are ongoing with key stakeholders at the state and federal levels (including EEDC, EERC, NERC, NISO, and NBET) to quickly resolve this issue. We are hopeful that a resolution will be reached within the next 48 hours or soon thereafter.
“We also acknowledge that this communication is coming later than expected. The delay was due to the short notice with which we received the full details of the development.
“We appeal for your continued patience, calm, and understanding as we work diligently with the relevant authorities to restore normal service as soon as possible.”(Daily trust)
