The Management of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) Plc has appealed to its customers with huge outstanding to pay their bills to avoid disconnection.
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the firm, Mr. John Ayodele, made the appeal in a statement on Monday and made available to newsmen in Abeokuta.
“IBEDC is embarking on a mass disconnection exercise because of payment apathy by customers, which is adversely affecting quality service delivery.
” We hereby appeal to our customers, particularly those with huge outstanding bills, to pay up in order to avoid any kind of interruption due to the ongoing mass disconnection.
“We are retooling our revenue drive strategy to ensure that the monies that have been left uncollected through huge debts, non-payment of bills, underpayment of bills, meter by-passing, use of illicit meters and energy theft are raked in.
“This is to enable us meet our obligations to the customers and the market operators,” Ayodele said.
The IBEDC boss, who acknowledged a major drop in the electricity generated across the country, said the situation had caused reduction in power supply to its customers.
He attributed the drop in generation from the Power Generation Companies (GENCOs), to their inability to pay for gas, which he said was denominated in dollars.
“When customers do not pay for electricity consumed, it has a ripple effect, as we cannot service the electricity value chain,” he said.
The COO, however, urged customers with disputed bills to lodge their complaints at the nearest IBEDC office for redress or adjustments, in cases where the claims are genuine and verifiable.
He also pleaded with customers to obtain their meters under the Meter Asset Provider Scheme (MAP) to put a stop to disputes over billing.
“The meters will record your accurate consumption. So please, apply for a pre-paid meter if you are unmetered.
“If your meter is obsolete, faulty or if you have a new building, visit any IBEDC office in your location or go online to apply for the meters on msms.ibedc.com or www.ibedc.com,” he said.
He assured that customers who purchased meters under the MAP scheme would get their monies back in due course through energy units.
On the issue of tariff rates that have generated arguments in some quarters, Ayodele said “only the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has the power to determine what customers should pay for electricity based on their hours of supply”. (NAN)
