The Eko Electricity Distribution Company says it will soon commence the re-routing of electricity feeder lines at the University of Lagos and other areas.
Oladele Amoda, the CEO of Eko Disco, disclosed this at the company’s quarterly media briefing in Lagos on Tuesday.
Amoda explained that this would be done in the form of underground supply to avoid electrical accidents and electrocution.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Juliana Anekwe, a 300-level student of Unilag, was recently electrocuted on the campus when a live wire fell on her.
Amoda said changing of all obsolete cables and re-routing of feeder lines through under-ground within its network became necessary to guard against frequent cable damage and loss of lives.
According to him: “As we proceed with our commitment to optimal service delivery to customers, it is sad to see some unfortunate incidents that appear to stain the gains of our efforts.
“One of such incidents is the recent electrocution in Unilag, in which the precious life of a young and promising Nigerian was lost.
“As an organisation with a very high premium on human lives, we are so pained and grieved by this incident and we have taken measures to prevent occurrence.
“The snapped overhead line that led to loss of life was part of the obsolete network inherited from PHCN but the incident was more painful to us.
“The line was already slated for conversion to underground cables as part of our network upgrade project when the incident occurred.”
On metering of houses, the CEO said the company had spent over $9.7 million to procure about 57,500 smart meters for customers’ use.
He said: “To tackle the metering challenge, a total of 7,500 maximum demand meters had been procured at the cost N2.8 billion, while another 50,000 meters for non-maximum demand customers have been procured.
“These meters constitute only the first phase of our metering plan that will see our customers close to 400,000 metered free of charge.
“Installation of the first phase meters both for maximum demand and non-maximum demand customers has already begun.
“Though it will not be possible for us to reach all customers at the same time. The assurance for all customers is that in the end, everyone will be metered with smart meters free of charge.
“It is equally important to stress here that because of our belief in contributing meaningfully to the local economy, we have procured a larger portion of these meters from local meter manufacturers.”
Amoda said about N50 billion would be spent to cover all customers within the next three years, adding that over N10 billion had been spent so far for the rehabilitation of equipment within the network.
He said many transformers that were injected into the system lines had been rehabilitated and upgraded.
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