Yemisi Izuora
The Management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc (EKEDC) has acquired 138 transformers valued at N700 million to replace faulty ones within its network to boost supply during festive period.
Oladele Amoda, the EKEDC’s managing director made the disclosed during an inspection exercise of newly acquired equipments at their Ijora main store in Lagos.
Amoda said that the company’s had sourced tje fund to acquire equipment that would improve supply within its network during the yuletide season.
According to him, The company is always thinking of how to satisfy its customers, the purchase of the new transformers is to ensure that our customers enjoy the yuletide season with quality supply.
“We have embarked on massive replacement of faulty transformers within the network, we expected customers to reciprocate this gesture by paying their bills.
We also except communities who will benefit from the transformers not to see them as public property but as their own so that they can help us safeguard the transformers against vandalism by unscrupulous elements,’ NAN quotes Amoda saying.
The EKEDC boss said that the company lost over N1 billion to various forms of energy theft and equipment vandalism in the last three years.
He said that issue of bye-passing of meter by customers was rampant within the network to avoid payment.
He said that EKEDC cannot continue to invest huge sums of money into network improvement while some people embarked on vandalisation of such equipment.
Amoda warned customers who are in the habit of bye-passing meter or involving in any various energy thefts to desist from such act, adding that the company will not hesitate to prosecute such persons.
He advised customers with wrong connection leading to energy theft to report to the company before they are discovered and penalised.
He said that the company had invested over N13 billion on meter acquisition, adding that the company has also commenced installation of over 200,000 free pre-paid meters to various customers within its network at no cost.
According to him, We have just signed a partnership agreement with a global brand, Huawei of China and Mojec International meter manufacturer and this, we believe, will impact our service.
“We have commenced a bill reconciliation and verification exercise tagged, ‘Eko Customer Account Reconciliation Exercise’ this is a way of repackaging energy audit to give it a caring face.
Amoda urged customers who had pay for meter under the Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI) scheme and yet to be metered to bring their documents for immediate meter installation.
He complained that gas has been a serious challenge to generating companies, adding that the EKEDC receives 200 megawatts from the national grid instead of 1,300 megawatts due to gas constraints.
He assured customers that issues associated with gas constraint would be addressed shortly, as government has tackled some of the bottleneck confronting the Transmission Company of Nigeria.