Yemisi Izuora
The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has restated its commitment to its meter roll-out and network intensification programme.
The firm notes that implementation of the meter roll-out plan would guarantee the company returns on its investment as all loopholes to energy theft and other sharp practices would have been blocked.
Giving this commitment was the company’s Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Sam Nwaire during a town hall meeting with customers of the company under Lekki District in Lagos.
Mr. Nwaire who stood in for the MD/CEO said the meter roll-out plan was on course and expressed optimism that all unmetered customers of the company would be reached within the stipulated time. He said since the cost involved was so huge, it was not possible for all customers to be metered at the same time.
He then appealed to those yet to be reached in the meter roll-out plan to exercise some patience as no customer would be left out in the end.
Responding to a complaint by one of the participants at the town hall meeting that the use of estimated billing for unmetered customers does not correspond with the volume of energy supplied, Mr. Nwaire said the company has an established billing methodology approved by the industry regulator for billing unmetered customers.
This, he said, was usually based on a number of factors which include the customer’s consumption pattern over time and availability of power supply within the particular month for which the customer was billed.
Speaking further, the EKDC Chief disclosed that in order to ensure a just and fair assessment of customers’ consumption, the company has embarked on an energy audit and customer enumeration programme aimed at ascertaining true energy consumption of all customers with or without meters.
The programme, he said, would also lead to the detection of those that have been engaging in energy theft in one way or the other.
He then appealed to all customers of the company to co-operate with the company for the success of the programme as it would be of mutual benefit to both the customers and the company as well.
Mr Nwaire also assured that the network reinforcement and improvement programme of the company was being pursued vigorously adding that a lot of relief and upgrade projects in different parts of the network were going on and would soon be completed for better service delivery to customers.
Participants at the town hall meeting expressed their delight at the meeting saying that the company should hold such a forum as regularly as possible to promote better interaction and understanding between it and its customers.
While commending EKEDC for the appreciable improvement in power supply in Lekki axis in recent time, a participant who represented Infinity Estate Lekki, Prince Taiwo Owosho advised the company to pursue the meter roll-out plan with seriousness so as to secure the confidence of the customers in the company’s integrity.