Again, residents of Isokan Phase I and II, Wakilu street, Greenlake and parts of Ashipa in Lagos State have voiced their frustration over the persistent power supply issues that have plagued the area for many years.
The ongoing electricity challenges have left homes and businesses in disarray, with residents pointing to an aging and epileptic transformer (now out of service) as the root of the problem.
The existing transformer, which serves the densely populated area, has been unable to meet the growing electricity demand. Frequent breakdowns and prolonged power outages have become the norm, disrupting daily activities, livelihoods and heightening suffering.
Many residents report spending exorbitant amounts on alternative energy sources such as generators and inverters, further straining household budgets in a struggling economy with the recent hike in petrol pump prices.
Sources in the community told Henzodaily that there is an existing agreement for Enaro Energy to take over the production and distribution of electricity to the area but Ikeja Electric is allegedly delaying the take off.
Community members who spoke to Henzodaily have also lamented the power company’s further delay in replacing the transformer supplying the areas, which is said to have been taken to their workshop after its total collapse many weeks ago.
The community said it had also submitted a formal petition to Ikeja Electric but that the power company has yet to respond positively to their grievances. With many residents accusing IE of footdragging.
The People Are Suffering
Speaking to Henzodaily on the developments, an elder in Isokan Phase 1, Baba Adewale Badmus lamented the challenges being faced by residents of the affected area due to the power outage.
According to him, this is a matter of emergency and as a people, they have to cry out to get the attention of concerned authorities to immediately address the power issue.
“That is the situation we have been in for a while now. All of us in the community are concerned with the power issue.
“This is not something we can keep quiet about. The people have to speak out. We are not just calling the Ikeja Electric out. No, we are only demanding that our challenges be addressed. And to let them know that the people are suffering,” Baba Badmus said.
“I know how much I spend on petrol following the power outage. We have been commenting on this issue.
“So nothing much, we are also appealing to the Ikeja Electric to bring us a new transformer,” Baba Badmus added.
We Need A New Transformer That Can Serve Us Well
Corroborating Baba Badmus’s submission on the lingering power issue in Isokan Phase I and II, Wakilu Area and parts of Ashipa, another active community leader, Mr Samuel Adu, berated Ikeja Electric for their lackadaisical attitude to resolving the problem.
He lamented that families in the affected areas had to spend the yuletide season in darkness.
“The transformer has been giving us problem before it finally brokedown. For almost a month now. We sent an official letter to Ikeja Electric and we haven’t gotten any response yet.
“They normally give us one day on and one day off. At times it doesn’t even work until the transformer packed up.
“We have been in darkness for over a month now. We have sent an official letter to Ikeja Electric to inspect it, and we have not seen any response since then.
“We want a new transfer, not a refurbished transformer. We are customers, and we know how much we are paying as a community.
“They put us in darkness for days. Throughout December, we didn’t see any light. We want a new transformer that can serve us well… If we have a brand new transformer that can serve us, there will be no fluctuation.
“We don’t want a situation where they put us on two days on two days off. Even the old transformer is still with them, at their workshop. But we no longer need that, we need a new transformer,” Mr Adu told Henzodaily.
What We Were Told About Our Transformer – CDA Chairman Shares
When contacted, the Community Development Association (CDA) Chairman for Isokan Estate Phase 1 and 2, Ademola Orishatola said: “There has been a power failure since (December 21st 2024) when the transformer was reported to fail test and all residents has been in total darkness ever since then.
“The UTM was informed about it (Isokan DT), and a letter was taken down to the head office in Alausa, Ikeja, the same day it (the transformer) was removed from the base and taken to the Oke Afia workshop Isolo (Jan 09, 2025) and ever since then there has not been a positive outcome.
“We were invited by the Ponle IE office with all the necessary information required but we were told from reliable sources that our transformer has been on queue yet to be attended to.”
The CDA Chairman urged the government and concerned agencies to intervene on the lingering power outage in his community.
He expressed concern that not everyone can afford fuel to power their generators as alternative to the electricity.
“We are appealing to the government and the necessary agencies to come to our aid, people are suffering, businesses are slowing down, a lot of people are affected by this, and not everyone can afford fuel this period,” Orishatola appealed.
I Am Not Authorized To Discuss With Press Men On Issues Relating To Our Operations
When contacted about the issues in the affected area, the Ikeja Electricity Ayobo Undertaking Manager, Mrs Kikelomo Iyabode Okebiyi declined to comment on the matter.
She said: “Please, i am not authorized to discuss with press men on issues relating to our official operations.
“If you are a customer on Isokan DT kindly specify and provide your IE account number to enable me trace the particular Isokan you are referring to so I can attend to your complaint as a customer.”
Also, a spokesperson for Ikeja Electric declined to speak on the power issue in the affected community.
She referred our correspondent to the Business Manager in the affected area.
We Will Replace The Transformer
Responding to speculations that the community is being punished due to an issue that happened between the Ikeja Electric and a customer in Adewale Badmus Close, months before the transformed broke down, Mr Abayomi Gabriel, Ikeja Electric Business Manager, Akowonjo, said: “The thing is that in reference to the power issue in the areas you mentioned… Something happened last time. There was a problem with a customer and the issue has been resolved.
“There has been a development and we have move past the initial issue with a customer in the area.
“Now they have a challenge with their transformer and we trying to see how we can solve that challenge.”
When asked whether the company plans to replace the faulty transformer with a new one or a refurbished one, the Mr Gabriel clarified saying: “We will work on it. You know its a new year. We have done our budget last year and now we are trying to see how we start to plan for things and others…
“About whether they will get new or refurbished transformer… The things is that for us, every transformer has its potential. Potential in terms of load it can carry.
“So if a transformer is overloaded we can decide to bring another one to meet the threshold. Also sometimes when we discover that for example a transformer initially serve let’s say the customers there are initially 20 and now they are 50, we can say that the transformer can no longer accommodate the load.
“Whichever is the situation there, what determines the solution we will deploy would depend on the situation of the environment. Is it a relief? Is it that the transformer is overloaded or is it that there are more people… These are the things that we consider in deploying a transformer.”