AEDC to deploy 42,000 meters in Karu, Jikwoyi, other franchise areas

AEDC to deploy 42,000 meters in Karu, Jikwoyi, other franchise areas

Thursday, July 5, 2018 10:22 pm


The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) says it will deploy 42,000 meters to unmetered customers in communities under its FCT–Central franchise areas.

Mr Usman Usman, AEDC’s General Manager, made the disclosure at customers’ consultative forum, held on Thursday at Jikwoyi, a suburb of the FCT.

The general manager said that the company would focus more on Karu, Nyanya, Jikwoyi and Kurudu Orozo.

The other franchise communities under AEDC’s FCT Central are Asokoro, Garki, Maitama and Wuse.

Usman said there were numerous challenges inhibiting the company’s desire to deliver flawless services.

He gave some of the challenges to include metering gap, obsolete equipments, bad network, vandalism, commercial and technical losses.

The general manager however, said the challenges were not insurmountable as efforts were ongoing to tackle them headlong.

He disclosed that final arrangement for deployment of the meters to customers in all of the FCT franchise areas had been concluded, adding that residents without meters would soon be served.

Usman noted that deployment of the meters to the customers in the aforementioned communities was part of AEDC’s mass metering project.

He also said the company was inaugurating several relief substations in the region to boost supply.

According to him, AEDC is revamping dysfunctional networks, reducing technical and commercial losses, engaging stakeholders and improving customer service delivery.

Usman said the essence of the customer forum was to discuss with customers and get first hand information on their challenges as well as build cordial and enduring relationship.

“We want to have cordial and enduring relationship with you and that can only be realised, if you will partner with us to achieve our ultimate goal, which is to serve you better,’’ he said.

He urged customers to assist in protecting AEDC’s installations in their communities and to shun unwholesome practices like short changing the company via bye-passing of meters.

Usman said the company frowned at illegal connections and molestations of their staff, adding that people must be law abiding.

He also urged the customers to promptly pay their electricity bills as the company was committed to service delivery.

Some of the customers expressed delight in the forum, saying that it had afforded them the opportunity to present their complaints.

The customers, from different communities in the area spoke against high estimated billing, load shedding, over loading transformers, extortion by some perceived AEDC staff on registration fee for new connection and absence of billing meters.

Responding to the numerous complaints, Usman urged AEDC Area Managers in the region to always monitor their networks to check the temperature of transformers in their jurisdictions.

“If any transformer is loaded up to 75 per cent, please arrange for upgrading of the transformer,’’ Usman said.

He also called on customers awaiting provision of transformers to be patient given the high volume of request for transformers.

The general manager also said the company was making frantic efforts to deploy more transformers.

Usman also advised customers filing for new registration for their new houses not to pay any money to AEDC staff as there were no fees charged for connecting a new building.

He, however, said an evidence of N2, 000 receipt payment only was required for a re-connection of a customer who was disconnected for nonpayment of electricity bill.

He disclosed that many customers in Asokoro, Garki, Maitama, and Wuse areas of the city have long been supplied with the prepaid.

Meanwhile, AEDC in a bid to reduce the metering gap of its customers, had began a mass metering scheme of customers in its franchise areas of Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa and FCT .


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