After many years of lack of electricity power supply, Ogwashi-Uku community in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta has raised alarm over plans by some stakeholders in Asaba Power Substation to dedicate electricity lines to some industrialist.

Mr Chuks Ogbogwu, Chairman, Ogwashi-Uku Electricity Committee, who led other members to the site of the Asaba 330/132/33kv substantiation, told newsmen that they had taking steps to ensure that nobody diverts the community power lines.

He said that the committee has consistently monitored development of the project to ensure that Ogwashi-Uku and the adjoining communities get the full benefit of the project having waited without electricity for many years.

“We have come to see how far work is going on in this power substation in order to ensure that light gets to our community as soon as the power step down was commissioned.

“We are aware that some industrialist are making plans to divert the light meant for our community and this is not what we expect but we will make sure that it does not happen.

“That is one of the reasons why we are here and we have spoken with the authority concern and we have been assured that such things will not happen,” he said.

Ogbogwu said that the committee would explore all relevant avenues to ensure that the community gets the right power allocations.

He said that the committee has also put machineries in place to fix bad and vadalised transformers, electricity poles and wires to get the community ready to receive power supply when the substation was commissioned.

When contacted, Mr Odinaka Amaobi, Project Manager, Asaba Power Substation, said that the project has been threatened by some of the activities going on within the distribution side of the project in recent times.

According to him, some private companies recently started mounting poles and running lines direct to the power substation feeders which has brought a lot of situation in the site.

“We have to protect government facility and for the community, they came to the site and I have already informed them that nobody will take away their feeders.

“All the six feeders in the substation are meant to go to the communities and the feeders are going to be radiating within Asaba and environs to Ogwashi-Uku, Ibusa and Illah communities.

He said that any company that needs light could take from the communities line and not to be given a dedicated lines from the available six feeders.

He said that the project has rooms for expansion and to take additional six feeders, adding that government has already provided another 150 MVA transformers for the expansion.

He said that the second phase of the project would be for the industrialists and called on the industrialists to put resources together and buy a separate transformer to enable them have dedicated feeders.

“This substation is put at 95 per cent complete, and as we speak the substation has been energised, the remaining five per cent is to energize the feeders transformer which will give light to the consumers.

“And I must assure you that we are going to deliver this substation and give lights to the communities before the elections,” Amaobi said.

Our correspondent reports that with the commissioning of the Asaba substation the many years of epileptic power supply to Asaba and environ may be addressed.

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