By Energy Worth
The Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO), has been given four weeks ultimatum to comply and adhere strictly to the Nigeria Electricity Regulations Company (NERC), guidelines, the law that established them and business ethics to ensure stable power supply to its consumers.
After extensive deliberations at a tripartite meeting with Civil Society Organizations, stakeholders, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), and KAEDCO, the meeting agreed that, “KAEDCO should improve on its costumer services and its poor public relations.”
A communique issued and signed by the convener, Comrade Yusuf Smoke also noted, “All homes should be metered and charged appropriately, to avoid people paying for power they did not consume, which has been the trend.
“Transformers, poles, cables and all other installations needed to give adequate, safe and reliable power to home must be provided by KAEDCO as a mandate not consumers or government as it is made to look like.
“KAEDCO should hence forth evacuate all of the 8% power allotted to it to service the people of Kaduna.
“Community associations should encourage people to pay their light bills, guide electricity installations like transformers against vandalism and expose neighbours who bypass their meters.”
Though the management or representatives of KAEDCO were absent at the meeting after being duly informed, the meeting observed, “Refusal of KAEDCO to participate in the very important tripartite meeting and choose to instead participate in a football match at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium same day, was a clear indication that costumers are less important and they are running away from being exposed, therefore are responsible for shortchanging the people and the acute shortage of power supply to homes despite its availability.
Following the agitations of the people of Kaduna on the inadequacy of power supply despite the unprecedented increase in generation and transmission and its availability as noticed in Kebbi, Kano and other places, the meeting was organized to iron out areas of interest that could ensure mutual understanding for a better service delivery.
The issue of estimated billing system that does not consider whether or not costumers enjoy the power supply, suspicious hidden charges in the metering system, non provision of transformers, poles, wires and other installations needed to take power to homes while expecting people in the community to contribute money to buy were issues that were of importance that needed clarifications from KAEDCO.
The selling of prepaid meters to customers which is supposed to be for free and the poor costumer services experienced were equally part of the agitations by consumers that KAEDCO was to clarify.
The meeting was organized after the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, engaged the managements of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, KAEDCO, and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), to seek answers on issues concerning epileptic power supply being experienced in Kaduna.
