Osamagbe Imadiyi
Ekiti State has received transmission lines and equipment and accessories for two 132/33KV stations from the federal government. Ekiti State Commissioner for Infrastructure and Public Utilities Prof. Bolaji Aluko and Victor Famoroti, General Manager, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Ekiti State, received the equipment on Saturday at the Omisanjana 132/33Kv station in Ado Ekiti on behalf of TCN, according to a statement released in Ado Ekiti on Monday.
Speaking during the item’s delivery, Aluko stated, “The substations would be installed in Ilupeju Ekiti and Ijesa Isu Ekiti to improve transmission of bulk power supply to the north and other senatorial districts of the state with a switching station at Ikere Ekiti.”The commissioner praised the Federal Government and Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State for expediting the two substation projects, adding, “The additional substations, which are aimed at revolutionizing Ekiti State power sector, will serve as 240MVA total addition (four new transformers of 60MVA each) to the 140MVA-3-transforrners Omisanjana substation in Ado Ekiti.” He promised that the project would be finished by the end of the year.
Aluko stated, “The Omisanjana station here will be similar to those two stations. Nearly three years have passed since the start of this project, and more and more equipment has arrived. This consignment of trucks arrived about four or five months ago. They were delivered to Ijesa Isu, Ikere, and Ilupeju, but with 15 trucks carrying a variety of equipment, poles, wires, and transformers, this is the biggest group to date. “Everything that will be unloaded over the next few days is packed into these trucks and containers. The entire installation process, including the installation of poles, wiring, testing, and other components, will probably still take six months or more. After three years of waiting, we are optimistic that it will be ready by the end of this year, at which point we can continue to wait”.
The commissioner praised Oyebanji for establishing the Independent Power Project in Ekiti State, stating, “We had no generating plant in the state prior to our IPP, and power generation is a problem in the state. However, we now have an IPP.”
