Kano Electricity Company Loses N260m In 3 Months To Vandalism

The Management of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) says it has lost over N260 million to the activities of vandals across Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States in three months.

A statement by the spokesman of Kano DisCo, Ibrahim Sani Shawai, on Friday, said there have been rampant cases of transformer and transformer oil vandalism and theft across its franchise areas.

“We are working tirelessly to secure our network through massive infrastructural investment as well as maintenance in order to serve our numerous customers better but vandals are sabotaging these efforts.

“This has been responsible for the recent lack of supply in some locations and we won’t take that anymore.

“In this regard, we are calling for communal vigilance to help protect KEDCO’s installations against these economic saboteurs,” it said.

The DisCo appealed to the general public to support it, insisting that the vandals were taking advantage of the weather to commit these economic crimes.

It called on the public to help serve them better by protecting and reporting suspected attempts to security personnel.

“We wish to issue stern warning to anyone still vandalizing our transformers and stealing the oil to desist from it as KEDCO will no longer tolerate such lawless acts as anyone caught will be prosecuted accordingly.”

There is an improvement in power supply in these states recently, though many residents attribute it to the rainy season when the supply usually increases.

Daily Trust recalled that early this year, the DisCo, in collaboration with the judiciary, is planning to establish Special Investigation and Prosecution Task force on Electricity Offenses (SIPTEO) to help curb issues of electricity theft and related offenses in the states.

Meanwhile, the ongoing construction project of 330KVA transmission station at Rimin Zakara and 132KVA transmission substation at Hotoro Walalanbe in Kano by Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) are expected to boost supply in the three states up from the current 470 megawatts when completed in December.

Source: Daily Trust