IBEDC disconnects Ogun industrial estate, others over debts

Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company has disconnected the Ogun Industrial Estate in Ota, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State due to unpaid electricity debt.

The IBEDC also disconnected the Jebba Paper Mill in Ilorin, Kwara State and the Liberty Stadium in Ibadan, Oyo State, for failing to pay for the electricity consumed.

The power company disclosed that in a notice on its social media handles, revealing why the Band A feeders were without energy supply in the past week.

IBEDC spokesperson, Mrs Busolami Tunwase, confirmed the development to our correspondent, but she declined comments when she was asked to state the amount owed by the disconnected customers.

The According recalled that members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria had lamented that they were disconnected by the distribution companies due to their inability to pay the new Band A tariff of N206 per kilowatt-hour.

The manufacturers said they would not be able to afford the new tariff, which they consider too high.

While still having a pending appeal before the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, MAN cried out that the Discos did not hesitate to cut them off.

The Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said over 100 industries had closed shops over their inability to pay the new rate.

He explained the situation as a case of an industrialist, who formerly paid between N8m and N9m for electricity and was compelled to pay N32m for power usage despite the prevailing economic challenges facing the Nigerian industries.

“More than a hundred manufacturers have been disconnected and this means that effectively, their productions have been disrupted.

“Sometimes our members will have to go and borrow money to be able to pay for electricity. We don’t have the cash flow and profitability,” the MAN DG said.

Recall that the IBEDC recently disconnected the popular University College Hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State, over N400m debt.