Don’t pay to fix transformers, Kaduna Electric advises customers

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Kaduna Electric has advised communities to stop contributing money to fix faulty transformers or buy any electrical equipment. That responsibility, it says, is that of the company.
The Head of Corporate Communication of the organisation, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement made available to the media in Kaduna yesterday.
He said instead, the company urged them to pay that money into their individual accounts to offset the debt owed the company.
The statement added that, contributing money to fix faulty transformers does not address the important issue of the debt customers owe for electricity consumed from the transformer.
It further said Kaduna Electric is always ready to fix all faulty equipment on its network particularly when beneficiaries are living up to their obligations of settling their bills promptly.
“Once communities guarantee a significant return on the electricity consumed, the company is obligated to prioritise the fixing of any such faulty equipment. Contributing to fix it does nothing to offset the outstanding payment already incurred.
“A situation where N1 million worth of energy is supplied a transformer, for example, but only about N200, 000 is realised does not help us in our effort to provide efficient, uninterrupted services.
“In the event that such a transformer develops a fault, rather than contributing money to fix it, community residents will do well to pay into their individual accounts to reduce their debts”, the statement said.