Jos Disco Targets over 1m Customers by End of 2018
Seriki Adinoyi
The Jos Electricity Distribution (JED) Plc has revealed that it will soon relaunch vigorous metering programme in Plateau, Bauchi, Benue, and Gombe states, warning that it will not entertain any deliberate attempt to interrupt the programme.
It also said that it is targeting about one million customer data base in the states by the end of 2018 from the current 472,000.
Managing Director of JED, Alhaji Mohammed Gidado, disclosed this at Customers’ Consultative Forum in Jos, on Wednesday, noting that the company has received a go-ahead from regulator to immediately disconnect any customer that refuses to be metered.
Gidado, who was represented by the Director, Marketing and Investment, Mr. Boniface Verr Jibbo further warned that “any customer found stealing electricity by bypassing the meters installed by our staff will be prosecuted in accordance with the Law. Electricity theft is a criminal offence which will no longer be tolerated by JED Plc.”
According to the MD, one major challenge experienced by JED in its meter roll out programme was the incidences of meter rejection by some of customers on the belief that the meters being deployed were not properly calibrated and we’re not certified by Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA). “I am glad to report here and now that this issue has been laid to rest some weeks ago as the meters were taken to NEMSA certification centre in Kaduna where it was confirmed that the meters were properly calibrated and functioning properly.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Water Resources and Energy, Mr. Ja’afaam Wuyep, who represented Governor Simon Lalong, who commended JED for taking feedback from customers, added that “we are a responsible government; we will not sit back watch our people suffer.”
He appealed to JED to pay listening years to customers and respond to their complaints appropriately.
Some members of the state House of Assembly, who spoke on behalf of their constituents, and other customers gave myriads of complaints regarding hiked billing, estimated billing, requests for customers to pay for transformers, electricity poles, and meters by JED
In response, Jibbo promised to look into the customers’ complaints, but noted that the customers always try to bypass metering, describing the act as energy theft. He also expressed concern about vandalism of electricity cables and transformers by the communities. re you afraid of anything? Perhaps if you can’t name something you fear
How do we overcome the fear of the present
do the uncommon if the opportunity presents