BEDC receives 156,434 complaints from customers in 2 years
The Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has received 156, 434 customer complaints from 2020 to date, according to its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Funke Osibodu.
Osibodu said this during the Consumer Complaints resolution meeting organised by Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) on Wednesday, in Benin.
She said that out of the number, 154,539 had been successfully resolved, urging customers to channel their complaints through proper BEDC channels.
The managing director reiterated the company’s commitment to staff training, describing BEDC as one of the best DisCos in that area.
” We are one of the highest performing DisCos. In 2019, we trained about 5, 421 staff; in 2020, the figure went down to 2, 233 due to COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, we trained 5, 414,” she said.
Meanwhile, at the event, the NERC said that no fewer than 622,429 customers had been metered in the BEDC coverage areas as at December 2021.
The Commissioner, Consumer Affairs of the Nigeria Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC), Mrs Aisha Mahmud said the meters were installed under the Meter Asset Provider(MAP) and the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP).
She noted that the figure represented 38 per cent of the 1,645,337 consumers in BEDC coverage areas of Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti.
Mahmud said that the commission developed the MAP and NMMP to effectively close the metering gap, enhance revenue assurance, eliminate estimated billing and attract private investment in metering.
She also said that the non-availability of gas was a major reason for the epileptic power supply in the country.
“About 5,500 megawatt of electricity is available, out of which about 3,800 is billed and paid for by consumers.
“The figures by DisCos revealed that at least four out of every 10 prepaid meters installed were either by-passed or tampered with by customers and it has adversely affected the financial viability of the sector.
“National Assembly is considering a request from NERC to criminalise the rising cases of illegal connection and meter by-pass among others,” she said.
According to her, the mandate of NERC is to protect the interest of the public as well as to educate them on their rights and obligations, and to take and resolve complaints.(NAN)
