Power: AEDC assures FCT customers of quality services

By Etuka Sunday

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has assured its customers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of improvement in the quality of electricity supplied to their homes and business premises.

Executive Director, Commercial Services, AEDC, Mr Ernest Mupwaya, gave the assurance while making a presentation at a Customer Consultative Forum held on Tuesday in Abuja.

The forum was held for electricity consumers in Apo, Lugbe, Kuje and Gwagwalada districts in the FCT.Mr. Mupwaya, who represented the AEDC managing director at the forum, listed some of the post privatisation challenges the company faced to include inadequate, weak and obsolete infrastructure resulting in epileptic power supply, lack of willingness by some customers to pay for electricity, theft of energy, and vandalism.

He however revealed that in line with the company’s commitment to improved service delivery, it acquired and installed 140 transformers at the cost of over N200 million, to replace faulty ones.

Also, additional 200 distribution transformers with a combined capacity of 80MVA and an estimated value of N260 million are in the procurement process, he stressed.

The executive director listed other network improvement projects carried out by the AEDC since privatisation in November, 2013, to include upgrading of a transformer at Lokoja in March, 2014, which added 15MVA to the network; completion of a field base at Suleja in February, 2014, which also added 15MVA capacity.

Other projects by the company, Mr. Mupwaya said, include construction of a total of 49.5 kilometres of high tension (HT) lines between January and March this year, to enhance network reconfigurations and reinforcements; and completion of a 33KV power evacuation project in Gwagwalada, which led to the addition of 80 mega watts (MW) to the network and boosted power supply in Kwali, Yangoji and Abaji, among other communities in the area.

He also announced to customers the establishment of a call centre, which is operational 24 hours every day, through which they can channel their complaints for speedy action by company.

The company, the ED said, will hold similar customer consultative forum in other parts of the FCT, as well as in Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States.

Numerous customers had a field day expressing their views on how best they think the company can improve the quality of services delivered to them.

For instance, in his remarks, Chairman of the Customers Consultative Committee in Gwagwalada Area Council, Chief Eze Elendu, while appreciating “the significant improvements to power supply” in the area, assured of the readiness of electricity consumers in his community to partner the AEDC to address challenges of vandalism, electricity theft and refusal by some customers to pay for energy supplied to them.

Also speaking at the forum, the Chief of Kaduna Community in Gwagwalada, Chief Sunday Audu, who represented the Emir of Gwagwalada, while commending the company, especially the business manager in his area, appealed for greater partnership between AEDC and traditional rulers in its coverage area.