Don’t pay electricity bill to our staff in cash , KEDCO boss urges customers

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

The Managing Director, Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), Dr. Jamilu Gwamna has warned electricity consumers to refrain from paying consumption bills in cash to KEDCO staff or agents.
The KEDCO boss who gave the warning Tuesday during an interactive session with some select journalists in Kano, revealed that KEDCO losses millions of naira to impostors who mostly bypass the company to collect monies from unsuspected customers on behalf of KEDCO.
Dr. Gwamna, who urged customers to settle their bills at any KEDCO office nearest to them, insisting that the company will never deploy staff to collect cash payment from customer except through POS machine; a transaction that will be done with issuance of instant payment receipt.
He, however, explained that the distribution company has improved its collection efficiency where customers will receive bill notice via electronic device or online, to ease challenges.
“KEDCO is still running at a loss considering challenges of collection efficiency and meter bypassers. Yes, we have improved our collection from 48 percent to 60 percent but 40 percent leakages is a serious loss. A situation whereby the company received energy worth of N4.6billion and could only manage to collection N2.7billion, that is huge loss and you can only image the gravity of such loss in the kind of business environment we operate.
“So until our customers pay their bill that is when we as business enterprise will remain in business and that is when they can only complain of power failure. Our experience is clearly different. People don’t pay and they still complain of power outage. Honestly, the company is simply operating technically bankrupt services “.
On the inability to meter customers, Gwamna revealed that despite billions of naira invested in the supply chain of meters to customers in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa, the efficiency can only be notice until more than 50 percent have access.
He however applauded Federal government introduction of private sector company in the provision of electricity meters to customers, a move he said will reduce huge loss on disco’s.
Gwamna who was also quick to absolved distribution companies as solely responsible for power failure in Nigeria, attributed major challenge of low energy supply to Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
He said TCN has failed to replace two damage transforms through which energy is wheel from Kaduna to Kumbotso substation despite several complaints, a development the KEDCO boss said hinders their capacity to distribute electricity to customers.