The Eko Electricity Distribution Company says it has distributed about 142,000 prepaid meters to customers within its distribution network.
Sam Nwaire, the Vice President, Operations, EKEDC, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that more than 65 per cent of the company’s customers were currently using prepaid meters.
The EKEDC is partitioned into 11 business units – Agbara, Igele, FESTAC Town, Ibeju, Ijora, Island, Lekki, Mushin, Ojo and Orile.
Nwaire said that the company had also concluded plans to roll out additional 360,000 prepaid meters.
According to him, the EKEDC had segmented customers into various categories for easy identification of their problems following their disdain for estimated billing system.
Under the scheme, customers with obsolete and malfunctioning meters would have their meters replaced, he said.
He said contrary to reports, the government’s privatisation programme had assisted numerous electricity customers to address the challenges of estimated bills.
Nwaire said: “What we are looking at is the make up from the tariff class.
“We are not in a hurry to record profit but to satisfy the customers.
“On our post-privatisation update report, the company has embarked on a number of measures to engender a total turnaround in the company’s services to its customers.
“These include the embedded generation project, evolvement of a new human resource policy with emphasis on workers’ safety, training and improvement of general working conditions.”
Nwaire also said that energy theft and distribution lines vandalism still constituted one of the major challenges facing electricity distribution companies.
He said that in spite of the privatisation of the nation’s electricity sector, government needed to collaborate with the new investors in tackling the energy challenges because of the pervasive influence of electricity in the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
He said: “We will always be in constant touch with all stakeholders like the NERC, BPE and others so that we can sit down and look at the problems for us to be able to find lasting solutions to the power problem in the country.”
On electricity network rehabilitation, system upgrade and reinforcement, the EKEDC vice president said the company had earmarked additional N2.3 billion for the project.
The investment, he hoped, would help to drastically reduce equipment downtime and enhance customer satisfaction and service delivery.
Nwaire said that customer satisfaction rather than profit making remained the main focus of the company.
He disclosed that the company had also secured about $150 million out of the $250 million investible fund to improve service delivery.