Enugu communities confront EEDC subsidiary after 10‑day blackout

Residents of several communities in Enugu State have voiced strong criticism of the extended blackout that has left homes, hospitals and businesses without power for more than ten days.

They blame MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited, a subsidiary of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc, for failing to restore supply after a rainstorm damaged electricity infrastructure in the metropolis.

As of Tuesday, the outage affected Emene, Trans Ekulu, Thinkers Corner, Emenite, Airport, Alo Aluminium, Akpuoga, Nkwubor, Ugwuomu, Abakpa Nike, Nike Lake and Ugwogo, where residents say they have been without electricity since May 3 following the storm.

Many residents told South East PUNCH that the economic and humanitarian impact of the outage is severe, noting that they have been forced to rely on costly fuel‑powered generators amid worsening economic conditions.

They added that the prolonged delay in restoring power highlights deeper structural and operational failures in electricity distribution across the South‑East.

A Catholic priest, Reverend Father Bennett Ofor, described the prolonged outage as evidence that the distribution company lacks the technical capacity to manage electricity supply in the South‑East.

“EEDC has no capacity to manage and maintain electricity distribution in the South East. This problem should not have taken more than 24 hours at most to restore supply in a sane society.

“You can imagine people living in high‑rise buildings that depend on electricity for water supply and elevators. Communities buy transformers, wires and poles, yet they still pay the distribution company for services. Why then did the Federal Government privatise the power sector to companies that cannot deliver?”

Another resident, Prof. Chidi Obiora, accused the power firm of exploiting residents while providing poor service delivery.

“They are only after money because they know people in the South‑East rarely question these things. It is shameful that for about 10 days now they have not fixed the problem,” he said.

“Even in places experiencing war, electricity infrastructure is repaired faster than this.”

A resident of Emene, Raphael Onyekachukwu, told South East PUNCH that he had spent over N40,000 on fuel within days just to power his apartment at night.

He said, “Everything I stored in my refrigerator has spoiled because there is no electricity.

“I only use the generator at night to charge phones and get a little comfort because the heatwave is unbearable.”

Some small‑business owners said they have been suffering heavy financial losses due to the outage, while a few residents noted that hospitals are relying heavily on diesel and gas‑powered generators to keep medical equipment functioning.

One resident added, “Small businesses like sachet water and snacks vendors are suffering because they cannot preserve products or even boil water for customers.”

MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited announced on Monday that the outage was caused by a heavy rainstorm and strong winds that damaged key electricity infrastructure in the Enugu metropolis.

The company said the storm caused a wire cut along the Emene Industrial Lines 1 and 2, affecting a distribution tower linked to several 33 kV feeders at the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s New Haven Station.

In a public notice issued after the incident, the company identified the affected feeders as the Trans Ekulu, Thinkers Corner, Ituku Ozalla and Ugwogo 33 kV lines.

“The incident resulted in a wire cut on Emene Industrial Lines 1 and 2, which impacted a distribution tower and disrupted supply to several 33 kV feeders within the Transmission Company of Nigeria Switch Yard at the New Haven Station,” the company stated.

MEDL said its engineers had been mobilised to repair the damaged infrastructure and restore electricity supply.

The company apologised to residents for the inconvenience caused by what it described as an unforeseen weather‑related incident.