… calls for a shift in customer perception towards payment, says electricity is not social service

Oredola Adeola

The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) grapples with a surge in vandalism and energy theft, recording over 40 incidents in 2024 and uncovering 1,450 cases of theft in just two months, and has therefore urged customers to rethink electricity’s role as a social service.

Busolami Tunwase,  IBEDC spokesperson made this known in a statement issued on Sunday and obtained by Advisors Reports.

According to her, vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructures remains a major issue negatively impacting power supply, including the low supply of gas to generating companies (Gencos) which has led to a gradual decrease in available generation into the grid.

She said, “An example is the unfortunate vandalism of TCN towers in Ogun state in May 2023 which resulted in over 7 months of darkness for many of our valued customers.

“At IBEDC we are particularly confronted with the escalating cases of vandalism, with over 40 incidents recorded in 2024 alone.

“The theft of valuable assets such as transformer oil, cables and aluminum conductors pose a significant challenge to our operations, as communities affected are thrown into extended periods of outage depending on the severity of the act.

“Energy theft through illegal connections, meter bypass and illicit meters are also major issues affecting adequate supply of power to customers, because they result in revenue losses and liquidity problems for the electricity value chain.

“We have also noticed an alarming upsurge, with over 1,450 identified cases of energy theft between January and February 2024,” she said.

The IBEDC’s spokesperson further disclosed that payment apathy from customers is a major challenge to adequate supply of power.

She said, “Unfortunately, across our customer segments we have different mindsets that electricity is a social service and should not be paid for; some only pay part of the bill, while others don’t pay because they haven’t received their preferred ours of supply.

“To all our customers, our appeal is simple, please pay for whatever hours of supply you have consumed in addition to the outstanding bills to enable IBEDC survive and become sustainable as this is the guarantee for improved power supply,” Tunwase said.

The IBEDC emphasised that the low supply of gas to generating companies (Gencos)  has significantly reduced the power available on the transmission grid for onward supply to IBEDC.

This according to her, has in turn, hindered our ability to provide power to customers within our franchise, namely Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara and partly in Kogi, Niger and Ekiti states.

Tunwase further noted that scheduled maintenance activities conducted by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in January and March 2024 necessitated planned outages in specific areas of our network.

She said, “While these measures are essential for ensuring the long-term reliability of electricity infrastructure, we recognize the inconvenience they may cause and sincerely apologize for any disruptions experienced by our customers.

In a bid to address the current power supply challenges, IBEDC emphasizes the importance of explaining contributing factors to customers, while assuring them of ongoing efforts to find sustainable solutions.

Chief Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, is taking urgent steps to resolve gas supply issues, sparking optimism for improved service.

Additionally, IBEDC is collaborating with security agencies to combat energy theft and vandalism, urging communities to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activities.

The company is also focused on enhancing infrastructure and exploring alternative power sources to meet growing demand within its franchise area.