Ogwashi-Uku town in Delta State to get power supply

ASABA—AFTER a decade of darkness, the people of Ogwashi-Uku, hometown of former Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Ubulu-Uku community in Aniocha North Local Government Area, Delta State would soon be connected to the national grid.

  The state Commissioner for Energy, Barrister Newworld Safugha stated this in Asaba at a stakeholders meeting with representatives of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC, led by the Chief State Officer, Engineer Albert Esenabhalu.
According to him, the Ministry is working with stakeholders to review BEDC’s distribution and performance in the state both in urban and rural areas,  adding that there has been an appreciable level of improvement from BEDC.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State

He said :
“Henceforth the Ministry of Energy will be involved in all dealings between the BEDC and communities in a bid to curb issues that could lead to the communities being short changed or BEDC equipment being vandalized.”

On his part, Chairman of the State House of Assembly Committee on Power and Energy, Mr. Peter Onwusanya  said government was working with the relevant agencies to ensure that the BEDC distributes power equitably to all Deltans.
The lawmaker called for  patience, saying the Okowa’s administration is working hard to ensure that Deltans enjoy regular power supply.

He urged BEDC to invest in the rural areas which had been neglected, stressing that the need to bring those areas into the national grid was key to the total development of the state and the prosperity agenda of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
The Chief State Officer of BEDC, Engineer Albert Esenabhalu  urged consumers to pay their bills in a bid to sustain the distribution of power, adding that Delta State is critical to the sustenance of the company.
He said the company is working to improve power distribution in the state especially in the Asaba and Warri axis despite the challenges, revealing that work on the Ogwashi-Uku and Ubulu-Uku axis has reached an advance stage.

Esenabhalu said though enumeration had been completed in Ogwashi-Uku, 26 transformers in the town had been vandalized.
He said: “a 35 KVA Step down transformer has been approved for the Ogwashi-Uku axis while the Agbor axis is already enjoying appreciable power supply.”
He reiterated the willingness of BEDC to give every home in Delta State electricity supply in spite of its operational challenges.