Oredola Adeola

The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has revealed that over one hundred transformers have fallen victim to acts of sabotage and theft, stating that each damaged unit costs approximately one million Nigerian Naira with even higher expenses for replacement.

Despite the challenges, the management of EKEDC claimed that the DisCo’s collection rate currently averages around 84%—an improvement from previous year –  indicating progress towards meeting operational targets.

Dr. Tinuade Sanda, Chief Executive Officer, EKEDC made this known at the company’s regular customer consultative engagement forum on Thursday for customers within Festac district, consisting of Festac Town, Agboju, Satellite Town,  Ijegun Imore and Snake Island.

Sanda, who was represented by Mr Joseph Esenwa, Chief Finance Officer, appealed to customers to assist in the company’s ongoing extortion crackdown, charging customers to desist from offering bribe to any EKEDC’s worker, while urging them to report any forms of extortion to the company.

The EKEDC MD further urged customers to take responsibility and report incidents of energy theft and vandalism in their communities to the Police and other relevant security operatives.

She also expressed frustration over the capital expenditure that has gone into the replacement of distribution transformers and power infrastructure vandalised within a year under the network.

Sanda charged customers to speak up and assist her company in reducing the cost associated with sabotage and vandalism.

The EKEDC MD said, “When you see  anyone stealing energy or transformers are being vandalised, endeavour to take responsibility.

“EKEDC recorded more than a hundred transformers that have been vandalised within our network, this year alone.

“The average cost of replacement for each is a million Naira or it can also be more depending on the size of the facility that was vandalised.

“We are therefore using this customer engagement forum to restate the theme of our 2024 edition of Fraud Awareness Week which was ‘If You See Something, Say Something’ because we believe that even these criminals are domiciled within the communities.

“So, with proper surveillance and theft awareness, the leadership of the Community Development Committee, traditional leaders and other concerned customers can help us to reduce the activities of these criminals within their environment and reduce energy and equipment theft to lowest,” Dr.Sanda said.

The EKEDC MD appraised the company’s collection rate which stands at an average of 84%, and therefore urged customers to promptly settle their bills to ensure the company’s financial stability and more investment in infrastructure.

Sanda noted that customers’ cooperation plays a significant role in influencing the performance of the DisCo and ensuring frequent power supply in their area.

Commenting on the present low supply of electricity due to inability to get sufficient power from the generation companies(GenCos) to the grid system due to gas constraints, she stated that the supply to the company reduced to 350 megawatts from about 513 megawatts.

She further said that the quantum of energy made available to EKEDC from the TCN contributed to low supply within its operations.

“Water level is also a big challenge during dry season for hydro plants, this will be addressed once rain begins,” she said.

Sanda also emphasised that the essence of the forum was to interact with customers within their network on better way to improve service delivery.

She said, “Our mission in Eko DisCo is to improve the quality of lives of all customers by utilising cutting-edge technology to safely, sustainably and reliably supply electricity.

“That is what we stand for, and we will continue to promote this,” Sanda said.

She vowed that Eko Disco is committed to economic, infrastructure development, delivering safe, reliable and steady power supply to customers within its network operations.

Dr. Akinrolabu Olukayode, Chairman Festac/Satellite Town Customer Consultative Forum on his remark commended Eko DisCo for improved service delivery within the district.

Olukayode further said, “We need to expand the generating infrastructure to meet expectations and demands.

“We can not be struggling between 3500MW to 5,000MW for a population of over 200 million people.

“The government should open up the sector for more investors and improve the power supply threshold.

“When this is done, the government can now polarised the sector through vendors and those who can effectively distribute meters and allows investors, ” he advised.

He also task customers to keep security of EKEDC’s equipment within their community.

He advised customers to keep watch on those who are bye passing meters and engaging in energy thefts.

“It is the duty of the customers to work in partnership with the Disco to ensure that vandalisation, energy theft are reduced

“If the customers failed to do that it will continue to affects the operations of Disco,” he added.