The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Friday solicited the support of customers and stakeholders in tackling energy theft and vandalism within its network.
The Chief Executive Officer, of EKEDC, Dr. Tinuade Sanda made the appeal during a customer engagement forum organized by the company in Lagos.
The customers at the forum were drawn from various areas under Apapa District, including Ajengunle, Badia, Ajeromi, Amukoko, and Apapa.
Sanda, who was represented by the company’s Chief Finance Officer, Joseph Esenwa, said the essence of the meeting was to interact with customers directly on issues of concern and address them instantly.
She added that the company was losing an average of N3 billion to vandalism within the company’s operation.
She said despite huge investment in power infrastructure by EKEDC, vandalisation of equipment was still on the high side.
She said the activities of vandals were crippling power distribution to the company’s esteemed customers.
“Recently, we reported cases of stolen cables, damaged transformers, and other network infrastructure,” she said, decrying the spate of vandalism within its network, which adversely affected power distribution to customers.
She explained that the economic power and livelihood of the customers had been disrupted due to vandalism.
She appealed to customers to jealously guard electrical installations within their environments to avoid being plunged into unexpected darkness.
“We implore all residents and customers to report any act suspected to be vandalism to the nearest Police Station, Civil Defence, and the Department of State Service,” said Sanda.
According to her, the alarming cases of illegal connections, meter bypass, apathy to payment of electricity bills, and vandalism have been on a steady rise recently.
However, she reiterated the company’s commitment to curbing energy theft, vandalism, and other illegalities perpetrated by unscrupulous elements within its network.
On metering, Sanda said the company had commenced effective metering through the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme where meters were installed within 10 working days after confirmation of payment.
She urged customers to key into the MAP scheme as a way of addressing estimated billings.
On infrastructure development, the EKEDC boss said the company had bought over 150 transformers to improve supply and had commenced installation.
She added that the company had trained over 300 line men to resume in various locations to boost operational efficiency.
