From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Residents and businesses in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States have decried the sharp drop in power supply by the Kano Electric Distribution Company (KEDCO).
Saturday Sun investigation revealed that in the last few weeks, rationed power supply dropped to less than two hours in the three states, a situation which climaxed during the Easter break, when most Christian residential areas celebrated the festival in darkness.
The blackout, sources stated, is happening at a time when the temperature is as high as 43 degrees Celsius in the three states, with heavy sunlight blasting from 7.00am to 7:00p.m and the heat utterly hurtful.
The decline in power supply in the states has reportedly led to grave economic losses, especially to dealers of frozen foods and other perishable items that depend on power.
It was further revealed that small-scale companies and local industries are badly affected, with majority of them now using generators. Those that could not fuel their generators had to suspend production whenever there was blackout.
The situation has also negatively impacted on the sales of beverages, forcing water vendors, and retailers of sweetened beverages to resort to ice blocks to cool their drinks.
However, in its reaction, the Kano Electricity Distribution Company, said the drop in power supply was due to ongoing network upgrades in some of its critical distribution infrastructure as well as vegetation control on its feeders.
The KEDCOs spokesman, Sani Bala Sani, explained that the job required a safe working space for the engineers to operate.
He added that the company had to carry out the upgrades to forestall any network disruptions during the fast-approaching raining season.
Sani, who apologised for the power outage, assured the public of a speedy completion of the project.
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