The Kwara State government says erratic power supply to the state by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) is affecting the pumping of water by its waterworks.
The state Commissioner for Water Resources, Usman Yunusa- Lade, said this at a meeting with the regional head and management of the distribution company in his office on Tuesday.
The commissioner said he called the meeting to complain to IBEDC about the erratic power supply in the recent times in the state and how it had affected normal pumping of water by the water works.
”Without power supply, we can not operate at a maximal level even when our facilities are intact. However, we need to understand your challenges, and at the same time, we need to improve the service we render to the public,” he said.
Mr Yunusa-Lade said both parties had to look into the problem holistically and proffer possible solutions to improve power supply.
The permanent secretary of the ministry, Christiana Asonibare, said the poor power supply had also affected the ministry in its day-to-day operations, appealing to IBEDC to find a lasting solution to the problem of incessant power outage.
The Regional Head of IBEDC in Kwara, Oluwatoyin Akinyosoye, had earlier informed the commissioner that the erratic power supply was a national issue, which he said was receiving attention.
Mr Akinyosoye said the megawatt allocated to the state had dropped drastically, which informed the rationalisation of power supply in the first instance, emphasising that IBEDC had five regions and Kwara was one of them.
The regional head also stressed that a quarter of the power supply was allocated to Kwara, which is 12.6, equivalent to 13 per cent of the national grid, which he described as grossly inadequate.
He further explained that low water levels and shortage of gas were additional challenges militating against their power plants, adding that this had made them take supplies from another location.
Mr Akinyosoye, however, promised that the company would check and see how things could be fixed to provide prompt and efficient services to the people of the state.
On his part, the Head of Commercial Unit of IBEDC, Emmanuel Audu, assured that the problems at the two dams in the state capital, Agba and Asa waterworks, would soon be resolved.( NAN)