By KUNLE KALEJAYE

The management of PHCN Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company has said that the fire incidence that occurred at the Ikeja West Transmission station was as a result of some defective transmission transformers.

Mr. Chris Akamnonu, the Chief Executive Officer of the zone made the clarification at the weekend during the media briefing in Lagos.

It will be recalled that on Tuesday, May 14 at about 11 am, fire gutted  a power transmission station based in Ipaja, a Lagos suburb, causing fears of likely blackout in Ikeja and its environs.

“We deem it fit to inform the general public most especially our customer within the axis not exercise any panic about any power outage due to the fire incidence, as adequate measures have been put in place to ensure no place within the axis is left out of supply.

Akamnonu said that the essence of the media briefing is to set the record straight because we have read various versions of the stories from different media which were in accurate.

“There was a fire incidence on Tuesday, May 14 at the Ikeja West station which has resulted in a loss of one out of the five numbers of units that transmit voltage from 33kva/132 which basically feeds customers in Ikeja and part of Ogun State.

“The transformers were lost due to the fire incidence but we are able embark on network re-arrangement to move load from other place to affected area to be able to get supply.”

According to him, “immediately the incidence occurred  we are able to transferred some feeders to Oworonshoki, Ajah, Ojo and Akangba to accommodate supply in the affected transformers.

“We moved load to Ajah and Akangba where we have capacity, the purposed is to ensure that those affected customers from Ikeja West Station are not stranded while the repairs was done within 24-hours.

Akamnonu however, reiterated that no customers within the affected area we be in darkness, adding that “No customer and business operators in the area has suffered supply since the incidence’’

“I want to assure Lagosians and customers within the network to put their mind at rest as the station has enough power to distribute. We are also working hard to ensure that the burnt transformer is replaced immediately.

“The fire has nothing to do with total outage in the affected area because immediately the incidence occurred we have restructured the supply channel to supply effective power to our customer within the axis.

The CEO said that a good number of projects is ongoing in Lagos to upgrade the power sector in the country in accordance with President Goodluck Jonathan’s power sector agenda.

However, Mr  Oyeleke Adeoye, General Manager,  Transmission Company of Nigeria, West Region said that the fire was caused by some defect in the transformers in May around 11 am while the affected transformers were isolate from the rest to avoid been affected.