Abuja Disco moves to phase out estimated billing with vending centres

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) on Tuesday in Abuja launched its first prepaid meter-vending centre for public use in the purchase of energy credits, in its renewed drive to phase out estimated billing, improve quality service to its customers and beef up revenue generation.

The company also said it would begin a roll out of 100,000 metres annually, beginning from the first quarter of 2016, to enable customers key into the vending centres being established and effectively buy and use electricity since they were pre-paid metre dependent.

About 50 percent of electricity consumers in Nigeria are not metered, according to industry data.

The vending centres are selling points equipped with internet computers stocked with electrical energy, where customers can buy various units of energy credits using their prepaid cards.

AEDC is partnering Kallak Power Limited, another energy company based in Abuja, in the execution of the project.

“This is a key project because for the first time, we are now linking up our super vendors, Kallak Power Limited, and I believe that what we have seen here today is big milestone in our continuous quest to making better the entire Nigerian power sector,” said Neil Croucher, managing director/CEO, AEDC.

According to Kallak Power, it will be rolling out hundreds of points in and around the FCT so that customers will be able to buy electricity through the system.

It contract with AEDC mandates them to keep purchasing electricity from the Disco and then re-selling it to customers.

While expressing confidence in Kallak’s professional abilities, Croucher also said he believed that the project would work and be appreciated by customers.

“The customers have had a bad perception about the power sector, and especially of the distribution companies, and you can’t change perceptions overnight, but we can change that perception through our actions. By our consistent actions, we will be able to turn customers around and we want customers to be on our side,” he said.

The AEDC boss lamented that one of the biggest problems plaguing the Nigerian power sector was electricity theft.

This is carried out mostly through meter compromise, where customers intentionally by-pass meters to reduce or totally evade payment of bills. This results in huge commercial losses for the Discos.

“Almost have of the electricity we supply in Nigeria is not paid for,” Croucher lamented, arguing further that “Nigerians needed to develop a culture of accountability, transparency, and ownership of electricity through which can be created an efficient electricity sector with competitive tariffs and high quality of supply.”

 “The Nigerian power industry collects less than 50 percent of money owed it by various entities,” said Robert Dickerman, managing director/CEO of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, at a recent power sector forum in Abuja.

This negative trend, according him, results in industry losses of about N20 billion per month or N240 billion per annum.