The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) on Wednesday urged its customers in Ogun to support its planed upward review of tariff.
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The Chief Commercial Officer of IBEDC, Mr Deolu Ijose, at a stakeholders meeting in Abeokuta, said the proposed tariff regime was to enable the company improve its services to customers.
Ijose said the proposed review for residential customers under the R2 category would result in increase from 24.97 per unit of energy to 37.51 per unit.
“The tariff for commercial customers under the C1 category will increase from 42.03 per unit of energy to 63.13 per unit, while the tarrif for the industrial customers under the D1 category will increase from 33.70 per unit of energy to 50.63 per unit,” he said.
Ijose said that an upward review of electricity tariff would solve the challenges currently confronting the energy sector in Nigeria.
“For better service delivery and availability of energy for use by Nigerians, an upward review of electricity review is necessary,” he said.
He listed some of the challenges of the company to include: stealing of energy, non cost -reflective electricity tariff and non-payment of bills by customers.
Others are collusion by customers with officials of IBEDC to sabotage the company and the issue of bypass.
He said such developments had resulted in loss of revenue for the company, stressing that “the revenue loss for 2019 alone was over N80bn”.
” The losses we make on monthly basis made it difficult for us to secure loan facilities and for businessmen to invest in the industry.
“The problem has also made it difficult for us to meter every house under our jurisdiction.”
Ijose explained that if the tariffs were not increased, shortfall would keep on accumulating and IBEDC debt profile will continue to increase, while infrastructure would keep on deteriorating.
He added that steady supply of energy would not be guaranteed in such situation, and the industry would collapse due to liquidity challenge.
The IBEDEC official said that the proposed tariffs would guarantee steady energy supply while the industry would thrive with new businessmen investing in the sector.
” With the increased tariff, we will be able to provide stable and relative affordable energy supply to our customers.
“It will enable us invest in and carry out constant maintenance of our infrastructure and ensure long-term liquidity and survival of the industry,” he said.
He, therefore, enjoined the customers to buy into the planned upward review.
Some of the participants, however, raised objections to the planned review.
The Bursar, Crescent University, Abeokuta advised IBDEC to work on its revenue collection drive to enable them acquire more funds rather than embark on upward review.
He also insisted that improved services must precede increment in price before customers could buy into such proposed plan.
An industrialist, Mr Segun Akinwunmi described the proposed upward review as an attempt by IBEDEC to kill other businesses for their survival.