AEDC boss denies extortion of customers for meter installation

Managing Director of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Mr Ernest Mupwaya, has refuted claims by Abuja residents that officials of the company are extorting money from them to install prepaid meters.

Mupwaya told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that AEDC established the metering programme to tackle irregularities and overpricing in energy usage and also to avoid extortion of customers.

Some Federal Capital Territory (FCT) residents alleged that they applied for installation of prepaid metres over a year ago, but were yet to get them and now they were being asked to pay some more money again.

The AEDC boss enjoined the residents to always embrace the use of smart meters to avoid over billing in the use of electricity.

He said “we do not extort anyone; metering programme has been designed as a means to regulate; the initiative is to help metering response and we must embrace it.”

“What customers should demand is that they should actually embrace the programme, because it has lots of flexibility.

“Customers may not be able to pay at once but could do so in one or two years; it is designed in a way that there is affordable means to pay. Once you have paid you are then entitled to receive your prepaid meter in transparent ways within 10 days and this is to close metering gaps.

“We have invested in it to enable customers that are willing to pay do so; this will reduce load shedding in transmission in the power sector.

“Electricity has been inadequate to close gaps in distribution within specific time; this is why we designed another programme for customers to key into the prepaid metering within 36 months,” Mupwaya explained.