The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Power, Mr Daniel Asuquo, says a viable and purpose-driven power sector is capable of salvaging Nigeria from economic recession.
Asuquo stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday on the sidelines of a Public Forum with customers of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC).
He explained that if the country gets the power sector right there will be inflow of investment and the creation of more job opportunities.
The lawmaker expressed his committee’s commitment to ensuring that the power sector is well-run through the application of relevant legislation and interventions for the benefit of Nigerians.
He said the government has given a renewed commitment to the power sector through appreciable expenditure provided in the 2017 budget proposal.
Asuquo said that the lawmakers would partner with the executive arm of government to ensure that things improved in the sector next year.
He charged power distribution companies in the country to play by the rules of the Power Privatisation Act of 2005, even as he implored customers to cooperate with service providers to improve the nation’s power sector.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of the company, Mr Oladele Amoda, said EKEDC was desirous of giving its best to the customers with a view to providing them with value added services.
Amoda said the company had acquired and begun the installation of more than 138 transformers worth N700 million to replace the faulty ones within its network.
He said move was aimed at boosting power supply during the festive period.
He said the company’s directors sourced for funds to acquire the needed equipment to improve electricity supply to customers during the Christmas period.
“The purchase of the new transformers is to ensure that our customers enjoy the yuletide season with quality supply.
“We have embarked on massive replacement of faulty transformers within the network, we expected customers to reciprocate this gesture by paying their bills.
“We also except communities who will benefit from the transformers not to see them as public property but as their own so that they can help us safeguard the transformers against vandalism by unscrupulous elements,’’ Amoda said.
The EKEDC boss said that the company had loss over N1 billion to various forms of energy theft and equipments vandalism in the last three years.
He said that issue of bye-passing of meter by customers was rampant within the network to avoid payment.
Amoda said that EKEDC cannot continue to invest huge sum of money into network improvement and some people will be allowed to vandalised such equipments.
He warned customers who are in habit of bye-passing meter or involving in any various energy thefts to desist, adding that the company would not hesitate to prosecute and publish names of culprits in the dailies.
Amoda also advised customers with wrong connection leading to energy theft to report to the company before they are discovered and penalised.
He said that the company had invested over N13 billion on meters, adding that the company has also commenced installation of over 200,000 free pre-paid meters to various customers within its network at no cost.
According to him, “we have just signed a partnership agreement with a global brand, Huawei of China and Mojec International meter manufacturer and this, we believe, will impact our service.
“We have commenced a bill reconciliation and verification exercise tagged `Eko Customer Account Reconciliation Exercise.’
“This is a way of repackaging energy audit to give it a caring face,’’ he said.
Amoda urged customers who had paid for meter under the Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI) Scheme and yet to be metered to bring their documents for immediate meter installation.
He said that gas has been a serious challenge to generating companies, adding that the EKEDC only received 200 megawatts from the na