As a fallout of the recent fire disaster at the Enugu Timber Market, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has passionately appealed to its customers to adhere strictly to safety rules in utilization of electrical installations.
DAILY POST reports that the inferno destroyed several shops in the market, leading to the loss of millions of naira.
Residents had attributed the disaster to power surge from the EEDC supply
However, the Head, Communications of EEDC, Mr Emeka Ezeh, while speaking with journalists on Monday attributed most of the electrical mishap to carelessness by customers, who he said used sub-standard electrical materials for wiring, engage in illegal connections and non-adherence to safety rules.
In an apparent reaction to the claims, he, encouraged customers to always use quality and standard electrical materials as well as engage the services of qualified electrical engineers instead of quacks.
“We are concerned about the safety and well-being of our customers, that is why we always engage in safety awareness and enlightenment at all times,’’ he said.
Ezeh added that “the assertion is baseless and unfounded as that has not been proven or established.
“What happened can only be attributed to some of the illegal activities and unsafe acts embarked on by people.
“Such illegal activities included not turning off their machines/appliances after use or when not in use, illegal connection and use of sub-standard electrical materials.”
He further explained that the wood and sawdust, which forms majority of what you find within the market, are all combustible materials, and “once there is a spark on the sawdust, it is bound to burn’’.
On the claim that the company had not provided the market with dedicated transformers, Ezeh said that the market had more than enough transformers to power its operations. “We have two units of 500KVA transformers serving the market; and in year 2016, we also deployed additional 300KVA transformer in the market.
“As it stands now, the capacity of these transformers are not used up. So, the claim that they do not have enough transformers does not hold water,’’ he said.
The EEDC spokesman, however, noted that “the company is not happy with the unfortunate fire incident that happened at the market’’.
“EEDC sympathise with those affected by this mishap. We hope this unfortunate incident does not reoccur,’’ he added.
Comments