The Kwara State Government has appealed to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company for improved power supply to the state and the efficient functioning of its facilities, especially the waterworks.

The state Commissioner for Water Resources, Usman Yunusa-Lade, made the appeal at a meeting with the regional head and management of the distribution company in his office on Tuesday.

The commissioner disclosed that the purpose of the meeting was to inform IBEDC of the epileptic power supply in recent times in the state and how it had affected normal water pumping by the waterworks.

“Without power supply, we cannot operate at a maximal level, even when our facilities are intact. However, we need to understand your challenges and at the same time, we need to improve the service we render to the public,” he said.

Mr Lade advised that both parties had to look into the problem holistically and propose possible solutions to improve power supply as expected.

The permanent secretary of the ministry, Christiana Asonibare, explained that the poor power supply had also affected the ministry in its day-to-day operations, appealing to IBEDC to find a lasting solution to the problem of incessant power outages.

The regional head of IBEDC in Kwara, Oluwatoyin Akinyosoye, had earlier informed the commissioner that the current epileptic power supply was a national issue, which he said was receiving attention.

Mr Akinyosoye explained that the megawatt allocated to the state had dropped drastically, which informed the rationalisation of power supply in the first instance, emphasising that IBEDC had five regions and Kwara was one of them.

The regional head also stressed that a quarter of the power supply was allocated to Kwara, which is 12.6 per cent, equivalent to 13 per cent of the national grid, which he described as grossly inadequate.

He further explained that low water levels and a shortage of gas were additional challenges militating against their power plants, adding that this had made them take supplies from another location.

Mr Akinyosoye, however, promised that the company would check and see how things could be fixed to provide prompt and efficient services to the people of the state.

On his part, the head of the commercial unit of lBEDC, Emmanuel Audu, assured that the two dams in the state capital, Agba and Asa Waterworks, would soon be resolved. 

(NAN)