By Dele Moses, Ilorin
Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has said that about 600,000 prepaid metres would this year be available for its customers to reduce cheating both on the part of the customers and the company.
Head of the Customers Service of the company, Ayoola Adio, who disclosed this in IIlorin at a public hearing on extraordinary tariff review assured that the company would metre all its customers by 2021 in line with the federal government’s directive.
Adio, while admitting that estimated billing encourages cheating however argued that as some customers who may be consuming more than what they are being charged are cheated, the company is also being cheated by the costumers who may be consuming above what they are charged.
The IBEDC officer told the Ilorin customers of the company of the plan to increase the tariff they are being charged by 50 percent.
He explained factors responsible for the planed increment and urged all of the residential, commercial, and industrial customers to bear with the company.
Adio said the company was running at a loss because it buys energy at the rate of about N29 per unit and sells to customers at about N25. He said the company also suffers energy stealing because a lot of customers bypassed their metres so that the metres do not reflect substantial amount of the energy they consume.
The IBEDC officer said the planned 50 per cent hike in the tarrif was not yet enough for the company to enjoy an appreciable profit but the firm had to stop at that when it considered economic hardship people suffer at present in the country.
He assured better service this year as he said that there was a plan to ensure that the average of 14 hours electricity supply per day he said customers enjoy improve to average of 18 hours.
Adio disclosed that the company intended to spend about N6 billion on infrastructure in the year for network expansion.
Head, Monitoring and Protection of the National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC), Abdulrasheed Busari, who also spoke at the hearing explained that both the proposal of the company and the view of the customers on the tariff would be considered by the commission before an approval is made.
Many of the consumers who spoke asked the IBEDC to shelve the plan to increase tariff and ensure that they enjoy more regular supply of electricity before they can come up with the plan.
Some others said the 50 percent increase was too high and enjoined the company to substantially reduce it.
Many of the consumers also advised the company to devise a means of checking those shortchanging it by bypassing the metres or by reconnecting their disconnected lines in the night.