Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State on Thursday demanded the construction of a 330 KV substation by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to boost power supply in the State.
Fayemi regretted that epileptic power supply to Ekiti was affecting economic growth by having adverse effects on small and medium-scale enterprises.
Fayemi spoke at a meeting with the management of TCN on lamented the effect of epileptic power supply on the economy of the state.
Represented by the Commissioner for Public Utilities, Engr. Bamidele Faparusi, the governor noted that the 26 megawatts from the national grid was inadequate for the state with a population of about 3.5 million.
He said: “Power supply in Ekiti is very worrisome and it is bothering every indigene of the state because, it seems Ekiti is the least served state in Nigeria, as the transmission infrastructure in the state is unacceptable.
“At present, Ekiti with a population of 3.5 million people is being served with 26 megawatts from the national grid which is grossly inadequate. We have just one 132 KV substation in Ekiti while some states can boast of three while some more than three. Even the 132 KV sub station is not operating at a full capacity; it is being underutilised.
“When we resumed office and looked at the archives, we noticed that, there was a lot of communication between TCN and Ekiti state government between 2014 to 2015 which supposed to translate to the construction of the 330KV sub station in the state, but that communication stopped in October 2015.
“It is unfortunate that, the government at that time was very hostile and was not relating well with federal agencies. For that, we will exonerate TCN from the blame. But now that we have a very friendly government in place, It is time for TCN to come back to Ekiti.”
On efforts being made by the state government, the governor added, “The government is already working on the Certificate of Occupancy and would soon hand it over to TCN management for immediate action. The government is willing to support TCN to deliver on this project.”
