By DESMOND EJIBAS

The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) has attributed the ongoing blackout in Calabar and surrounding areas of Cross River to persistent rainfall and severe windstorm in the state.

Mrs Olubukola Ilevbare, Head of Corporate Communications at PHED, confirmed the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Friday.

She stated that the incident occurred on May 7 and caused significant damage to PHED’s power lines.

“The sever rain and heavy windstorm that took place on Wednesday between 4:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. was responsible for the outage.

“The extreme weather conditions damaged PHED’s power infrastructure, resulting in an electricity outage in Calabar and other neighbouring Local Government Areas,” she said.

Ilevbare, however, gave assurances that the company was taking steps to restore power supply to affected customers in the state as swiftly as possible.

She apologised for the inconvenience currently being experienced by electric users due to the blackout.

“We also extend our deepest sympathies to individuals and organisations whose properties were damaged during the storm.

“We understand the extent of the disruption and appeal to our customers to remain patient, as our technical team is working to restore normal service as soon as possible,” Ilevbare added. (NAN)