Discos begin customers’ enumeration to prevent malpractices in distribution

say ‘we are not going back on increased power tariffs’

Association of Nigeria Electricity Distributors (ANED) has disclosed that power distribution firms would soon begin customers’ enumeration exercise across the country to prevent malpractices in electricity distribution.

This is going by unaccountable commercial and collection losses recorded always by the 11 electricity distribution companies operating in Nigeria’s power sector.

According to ANED, the customers’ enumeration was imperative considering unfaithfulness and corruption on the part of power users, which give room for illegal electricity users to get away with power theft and illegality perpetrated in the country, in connection with electricity supply on regular basis, as the exercise will give accurate figure of real power users.

Speaking in Abeokuta on Monday on the proposed enumeration exercise, Sunday Oduntan, executive director, research and advocacy, ANED, said series of sharp practices committed by illegal electricity users on Nigeria’s energy distribution lines were part of problems of electricity distribution companies.

Oduntan, who reeled out challenges confronting all the 11 electricity distribution companies, including commercial and collection losses arising from malpractices; failure of government’s ministries, departments and agencies to pay energy bills promptly; harsh regulating policies, among others, said power generation would increase if all these issues were addressed effectively.

“For instance, it is unbelievable that number of electricity users in Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), which consists Oyo State, Ogun State, Osun State, Kwara State, and some parts of Niger and Kogi states is less than 1.5 million. It is so because lots of users by-pass legal electricity lines and use electricity freely and with impunity.

“That is why we are now doing what we call customers’ enumeration. That will help us to capture our customers effectively. Although, it is a several billions of naira, it is an expensive exercise, we are going to embark on it, if that is what we need to fight electricity theft and illegal usage of power across the country,” he said.

While speaking on increased power tariffs soon to be embarked upon by all the 11 Discos, Oduntan said there was no going back on the proposed tariffs increase as all the power distribution companies had submitted new tariff rates to the regulatory bodies.

If no subsidies or waivers are given by government to cushion effects of high and rising cost of production on the part of Discos, then there is no other alternative, except to increase, he said.

“That is why we are saying that our people need a cost-reflective tariff. Our tariffs must be cost-reflective, that is my main message to Nigerians. Now, we are selling at the rates that NEPA and PHCN used to sell electricity when government was giving them subsidies, when they were part of government’s entity, when nobody cared whether they were paid or not.

“When there was no separate generation, transmission and distribution companies and we know where it took us: darkness. So, for there to be efficiency, let everybody plays his role. The tariff should reflect the cost of production. We have just finished submitting our new tariff, that was why we did a lot of consultations with our customers for them to see and feel our plights,” he said.