The Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC)
has said some of its fraudulent staff are to blame for the use of touts for
illegal connection and extortion of customers under the guise of repairs or
purchase of accessories like transformers and electricity poles.
The company, however, said some staff found to have
engaged touts to extort unsuspecting customers in Delta State had been handed
over to the police for prosecution with some shown the way out, assuring customers
that it had put adequate measures in place to check the ugly development, which
has often led to avoidable friction between the company and its customers.
The Managing Director of BEDC, Mrs. Funke Osibodu,
who disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Asaba shortly after the
graduation ceremony for the 2018/2019 graduate and technical trainee
programmes, said the future is bright for power supply in its area of
jurisdiction.
She also disclosed that BEDC was ready to commence
the long-awaited metering process in Delta State, especially for its customers
in Asaba, the state capital, as well as the Warri/Effurun axis.
A total of 134 BEDC staff, comprising 60 Graduate
Trainees and 74 Technicians who had successfully concluded the training, were
graduated at the ceremony.
The managing director and chief executive officer of
the Disco advised customers to avoid going through third parties to pay
electricity bills or transact any other business with the company, stressing
that BEDC was duty-bound to discharge its obligation to customers who pay their
bills regularly.
On the issue of estimated billing, Osibodu assured customer
that the company would ensure that the customer enumeration programme was
conducted strictly to enable those without meters benefit from the ongoing
Meter Asset Provider (MAP) programme of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission (NERC).
While urging customers in Ondo, Delta, Edo and
Ekiti States, the BEDC franchise area, to brace up for the meter roll-out
programme, she said the metering programme in Asaba would take off within the
month, even as she reiterated that the regulatory authorities have approved the
commencement of a new tariff regime from next year.
She urged those with issues and complaints to take
advantage of the complaints mechanism put in place by the management to address
all manner of customers' complaints.
Earlier in an address at the trainee graduation
ceremony, the Chairman, Board of Directors of BEDC, Mr. Victor Osibodu, noted
that the objective of the specialised training programme was not only to add value
to the company's service delivery but aimed at addressing unemployment in the country as well.
The chairman stressed that the recruitment of
additional workforce coupled with specialised staff training remains critical
to improvement in the company's service delivery to consumers across its
service area.
According to Mr. Osibodu, the twin training schemes “were
conceived after the power sector privatisation in 2013 to enable BEDC respond
to the immediate talent needs of the sector, and also allow BEDC to contribute
to the reduction of unemployment in Nigeria. The target is 1,500 recruitments
under this scheme (and) within the four years of its existence, over 600
persons have been recruited.”
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