TCN accuses BEDC of providing ‘inaccurate information’ on power supply issue

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has accused the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) of providing inaccurate information on its power supply issue.

In a public announcement on Saturday, BEDC apologised to its customers for failing to meet the minimum service level of 20 hours on several feeders, including Abraka Commercial, Industrial Commercial, Ughelli/Shell, and Sapele.

The distribution company attributed the shortfall, which ranged between 5.2 and 6 hours of reduced supply, to maintenance carried out by TCN.

Responding to the claim, TCN said the only scheduled maintenance it carried out was on March 11, at the Amukpe transmission station, and bulk power supply was restored on the same day.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) wishes to address the publication by Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) on its social media platform, dated March 14, 2025,” TCN said.

“The announcement attributed BEDC’s inability to deliver power to its 33kV customers to TCN’s maintenance activities.

“For clarification purposes, TCN only applied for a planned outage on March 11, 2025, at the Amukpe Transmission Station, which was completed on the same day and bulk power supply restored.

“Contrary to BEDC’s claims, TCN’s maintenance activities did not cause the power delivery issues experienced by BEDC’s customers.”

TCN acknowledged that the only accurate information in BEDC’s publication was regarding the Ughelli/Shell 33-kilovolt (kV) feeder T1 60 megavolt-Ampere (MVA), which tripped due to a fault on March 14.

The company assured that efforts were underway to restore the bulk power supply to the affected feeder.

“It is essential to note that all other areas mentioned by BEDC in their release, experiencing power delivery issues, are a result of faults on their own (BEDC’s) 33kV feeders,” the commission said.

“TCN urges BEDC to please provide accurate information to its customers, stating facts as they are, for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

TCN reiterated its commitment to ensuring efficient and reliable power transmission across the country.