Yemisi Izuora
Ikeja Electric PLC, Nigeria’s largest electricity distribution company has unveiled its first ever sustainability report titled “Building A Customer-Centric Business-Our Journey to Sustainability”.
The document, which was unveiled recently in line with global best practices, outlines important milestones in the journey of the company from November 1, 2013 when Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) Plc was officially handed over to New Electricity Distribution Company (NEDC), the preferred bidders, by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) as part of the Federal Government’s power sector privatization program.
Speaking on the report, Ag. CEO of Ikeja Electric, Mr. Anthony Youdeowei said it highlights the progress the company has made post-privatization as well as its plans to ensure sustainable growth for the benefit of IE’s customers and stakeholders.
“In spite of the challenging operating and economic environment IE operates within, we have steadily progressed in our vision of ‘Bringing energy to life’ through strategic human, material, technology and financial investments thereby improving our efficiency and effectiveness in the distribution of power to our customers”.
Developed using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, the report provides the performance metrics for measuring the company’s financial and non-financial progress within the period under review.
The report employs the GRI G4 “In Accordance” Option of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and the supplement dedicated to the Electric Utilities sector issued in 2013.
Youdeowei noted that though the document covers the period January to December 2015, it makes some historical reference to milestones from acquisition and also highlights initiatives that have shaped the successive years of the document.
“The report is an honest assessment of operations, especially in the aspect of transforming the organization to a customer-centric business.
At takeover, there were numerous service delivery gaps that had to be closed.
In addition to other initiatives, we invested in a robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool that enabled the company acquire customer data, capture customer complaints and monitor customer engagement progress, from initiation to resolution.
The overall focus of the sustainability report captures Ikeja Electric’s profile, Business and Governance Management focus, Social Relations Management, Technology deployments within the business, Commercial and Operational Efficiencies, Customer Service Initiatives, Health, Safety and Human Capital profile as well as Community Engagement activities, among others.
The intended audience for the report include IE’s shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers and other third party business partners, government and regulatory organizations, local and foreign institutional investors, international agencies and the general public. These stakeholders are directly and indirectly impacted by the activities of the organization.