IBEDC fears MO’s planned suspension of defaulters from grid, begins mass disconnection of feeders in Ogun, Osun, others
Oredola Adeola
Having been served the notice of disconnection from the national grid by the Market Operator – a division of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)- , over failed remittances of bills for ancillary services, the management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has revealed the plan to embark on mass disconnection of its feeders from the national grid.
Engr. Kingsley Achife,IBEDC Managing Director/CEO confirmed this in a statement obtained by EnergyDay on Tuesday, stating that the decision was a result of poor remittances by customers.
EnergyDay’s check showed that IBEDC was listed by Market operators as one of the defaulters as of March 2023. Others are AEDC, BEDC, EEDC, IBEDC, Ikeja Electric, JEDC, Kaduna Electric, KEDC, PHEDC, APL Electric Company Aba, Ajaokuta Steel Company (ASC), a special electricity customer. The defaulting GenCos are Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) plants and Paras Energy.
The MD of IBEDC said that the action may result in power outages to customers within the IBEDC franchise areas especially locations with the highest population of defaulters.
EnergyDay’s gathered that the areas to be affected by the mass disconnection are Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara, and parts of Niger, Ekiti and Kogi states.
Achife, “As a revenue collection arm of the electricity value chain, IBEDC sells and distributes electricity generated by the generation companies. However, the company is unable to meet its financial obligations to the electricity value chain due to poor payment and huge outstanding bills by customers.
“We appeal to our esteemed customers to pay their current and outstanding bills to enable IBEDC to meet its obligations to the Market Operator and other parties in the electricity supply industry to ensure continuous and uninterrupted power supply.
“IBEDC prioritizes the provision of reliable and excellent service to our esteemed customers but requires timely payment for the energy consumed.
“Payment for electricity is essential to ensure the sustainability of our operations, and it is a responsibility that we all share.
“We urge our customers to note that failure to pay current and outstanding electricity bills may result in disruption of power to homes, communities, and businesses connected to our network.
“We encourage all customers to pay their bills promptly to avoid any inconvenience” Achife added.
Engr. Eddy Eje, Executive Director, in a recent statement served to the erring Discos charged them to seize this opportunity to fix their defaults following the intervention of Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, Minister of Power, who pleaded the grace period to 60 days for defaulter to clear their bills.
EnergyDay gathered that based on the 60 days extension of the grace period, the market defaulters are expected to comply with the provisions of the Market rules with respect to payment of their outstanding invoices, posting of adequate Bank Guarantees (BG), and forwarding of their active Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) as the case may be, to the Market Operator/TCN.
