Ayobami Agboola 
…Unveils Power Sector Agenda
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has tasked Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) to urgently resolve the crisis of irregular power supply just as he unveiled the power sector agenda for the state.
The Governor made this call on Saturday when he met the Managing Director of IBEDC in Ibadan, Oyo State Capital.
Addressing the management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company IBEDC at a private meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo State Capital, Adeleke described Osun as a critical stakeholder in the Nigerian power sector with Osogbo hosting the National Transmission Control Centre.
He said it is therefore unacceptable that the State will have an epileptic power supply, the situation which the Governor stressed has been affecting the local economy and businesses badly.
Apart from the fact that power outages contribute to growing insecurity, the Governor harped on the extortion of customers through transformer procurement, estimated billing that exploits the consumers and the inability of some residents of the state to buy energy due to the old metering system.
To this effect, Senator Adeleke said Osun is already working to enact the State’s Electricity System Law that will enable it to set up a Power Sector Regulatory Agency with a view to ensuring that people of Osun State are properly served within IBEDC franchise areas.
“As a Government, we are already working to enact the Osun Electricity system law. We will be setting up a power sector regulatory agency. We will introduce off-grid options and widen alternative energy sources”, Mr Governor posited.
In his own remark, Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adewale Egbedun called on the distribution company to cooperate with the Osun State government so that the firm will be able to carry out its business smoothly while residents of the state will also have value for the money being paid for energy consumption.
Responding, the Managing Director of IBEDC, Mr Kingsley Achiefe appreciated the Governor for the interface saying the firm is also ready to collaborate with Osun State Government with a view to serving their customers better.
According to him, the epileptic power supply in Osun State was caused by the drop in power generation.
He said out of the 1600 megawatts of electricity required to power Osun State, the firm is currently receiving less than 400 megawatts of energy from the generation companies.
The Governor has therefore set up a committee with the Commissioner for Energy, Honorable Fetus Adéyemo, Commissioner for Finance, Hon Shola Ogungbile, Commissioner for Rural Development, Alhaji Gani Olaoluwa, Chairman House of Assembly Committee on Power, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Hon. Hezekiah Olabamiji and representative of the private sector, Mr Tayo Adegbemle who is an energy analyst.
The committee’s terms of reference include facilitating the early passage of the draft Electricity bill, addressing issues impeding regular power supply, promoting embedded power alternatives, resolving the issue of debt owed IBDC, and fashioning ways and means of securing energy infrastructure across the state.
