Warri, environs in darkness over epileptic power supply

•We call NEPA Light Trafficator — residents

•Say transformer replacement has become a business

•Demand transfer of BEDC staff

By Jimitota Onoyume

At 7.30pm, Warri, in Delta State, should ordinarily be alive. The streets should be glowing with electric lights. Shops should be open, cold drinks should be chilling in refrigerators, barbing salons and hairdressing shops should be busy, and hotels should be humming with activity. But it is not so in many parts of Warri, Udu, Agbarho and Effurun. Darkness has become part of everyday life. The high cost of petrol has also made it worse, because very few can power their generators, even for three hours.

When electricity finally comes, residents say, it often disappears before they can make meaningful use of it. They said it explained why they nicknamed the electricity light as ‘trafficator’ in Iyara and adjourning areas.

For Mama Janet, a resident of Eboh road, the situation has become so frustrating that an appliance she bought six months ago has hardly served its purpose. “We have not used our freezer for as much as three hours since I bought it six months ago,” she told Vanguard.

She paused, apparently searching for the right words to describe the electricity situation. “I don’t know whether to say we even see the light, because it comes and, in less than an hour, it is gone. Sometimes, it is not there for a week.”

Her story is not an isolated one.

Across Ajamimogha, Odion Road, Iyara and adjoining areas, residents told similar stories of electricity supply that comes briefly and disappears for hours, sometimes days. In Igbudu, Iyara and Cemetery road areas, where residents invented the nickname ‘trafficator light’ for public power, they said the situation is frustrating because what they get are flashes of electricity.

“We now call NEPA light ‘trafficator light’. They just flash it and, in seconds, it is gone. We don’t see the light regularly, yet we pay bills,“ Ovo said.

For business owners on Deco road and other areas, the situation is more than an inconvenience. It is an economic nightmare. “Every hour without electricity represents lost income or additional expenditure,” one of them said.

A hotel operator in the GRA area of Warri told Vanguard that his establishment depends largely on solar energy and diesel-powered generators to keep operations going. “But even solar power has its limits.

“When we run on solar, we switch off air conditioners and other heavy appliances…usually from 10am,” he explained.

At night, for the comfort of our guests, we switch on our diesel plants and turn to NEPA when they remember to give us light,“ he added.

Vanguard gathered that some parts of Udu, Agbarho, Ugbuwangwe and Ubeji have been without electricity for almost a month, following transformer failures.

In Otokutu, a resident said the explanation given was simple: their transformer has packed up.

“They said the transformer went bad. We are gathering money for a replacement,” he said.

Residents in some parts of Agbarho and Effurun said they have repeatedly been compelled to raise money to repair faulty transformers. 

In some instances, they alleged, residents have had to contribute money to purchase replacement transformers.

Agness, a resident of Agbarho, said the practice had become frustrating. “In some cases, we even raise money to buy new ones. We are not even sure if what they bring are even new because they start giving us headache again after a while,” she said.

Residents alleged that transformer replacement has become business in many areas. They alleged that the frequent collapse of transformers 

may be induced. They alleged that certain personnel of Benin Electricity Distribution company, BEDC, the disco incharge of the state , deliberately manipulate transformers or fail to promptly attend to faults, allegedly creating opportunities for them to benefit when communities raise money for repairs or replacement.

.A resident of Ebrumede suggested periodic transfer of BEDC personnel as part of the solution.

“Some of their staff are the cause of the regular collapse of the transformers in their areas of operation. They should be moving them regularly. It will help the situation,” he alleged.

Christopher, another resident of Avenue, made an even stronger allegation. “Some of these BEDC workers know that they make quick and mega money when transformers pack up,” he alleged.

According to him, management should pay attention to areas where transformers fail repeatedly.

“They should assess their staff from the frequency of transformer breakdown in their area of operations. When the frequency is high, they should know it is business for their workers.”

In Agbarho, another resident narrated what he described as a particularly frustrating experience on Ekvwere Road. According to him, residents noticed sparks coming from their transformer and allegedly contacted BEDC workers, asking them to intervene before the problem escalated.

He said their appeal was ignored.

The transformer eventually failed completely.

“We have not had light since April,” he said.

Then came what residents considered another bitter twist.

“They want us to raise money among ourselves for them to go and buy another transformer. It has become business for the BEDC staff.”

Residents of Warri and environs enjoined BEDC to learn from telecommunication industries like MTN, GLO and Airtel that fix their facilities themselves. “ They don’t trouble consumers for money to fix their facilities across the country because we buy airtime. Bedc and other discos can do same”, they said.

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