Eko Disco assures relief for Ajah district customers, sets to end load shedding, commits CAPEX for feeders, transformers
Rita Blessing
The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has announced its commitment to improving the premium electricity supply across its network and has assured its capital expenditure will be dedicated towards rehabilitation, upgrade, and maintenance of various projects and installations.
This includes the rehabilitation of the Elemoro Feeder (Ajah TS), the Ajiwe additional feeder (Ajah TS), and the Langbasa-Ado additional feeder (Okeira SS) and others to stop local load shedding in some areas and fulfill a reliable supply of electricity to its customers.
Dr. Tinuade Sanda, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, EKEDC made this statement while interacting with customers during the company’s periodic Customer town hall meeting held in Ajah Business District, Lagos on Thursday.
The EKEDC MD, who was represented at the engagement forum by Mr. Aikenzua Alenkhe, EKEDC’s Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) disclosed that irrespective of the enormous challenges faced within Nigeria’s Electricity Supply Industry, Eko Disco on a continuous basis commits huge CAPEX annually as an investment to rehabilitation.
Alenkhe stated that the main interest of electricity customers in Nigeria is uninterrupted service and supply, emphasizing that power supply must be reliable and of the right quality.
Speaking about the priority given to safety standards within EKEDC’s operations and workplace, Alenhke said, “This is our way of life.
He said, “Customers’ safety is our concern, so keep off power installations. Electricity can be a good friend if used properly but can also be a bad enemy if not used properly.
“As we strive to give you stable supply, staying under power lines, high tension/voltage lines, or transacting business near under power facilities OR RIGHT-OF-WAY is dangerous and can be fatal if there is a wire snap for instance.
The EKEDC management further restated its commitment to the total elimination of estimated billing and urgent targeted metering to match customer growth. The EKEDC CHRO further noted that adequate metering is the pathway for customer-centric services.
He said, “For us in Eko Disco our goal is to meter all our customers because it makes our job easier, enabling us to divert resources and personnel handling estimated billing and Distributed Network Protocol (DNP) to other areas of the business.
Mr. Alenkhe further assured that EKEDC will also continue to deploy cutting-edge technology (SCADA, GIS, RCM etc) to improve response time to fault clearing, energy audit, and real-time network monitoring.
He, therefore, noted that while the Eko DisCo is committed to fulfilling its obligations, he urged customers to be committed to timely payment of their bills to enable the DisCO to gather sufficient revenue to invest in infrastructure for service delivery and meeting market obligations.
EKEDC’s CHRO said, “We do not derive any joy in disconnecting customers from supply. At the moment, we are clearing the customers who have made payment for Prepaid meters before the recent increase, and immediately that is done, we are also now going to massively roll out meters for all those customers who are yet to be metered, and who have applied.”
He assured customers that the company is taking their feedback and complaints seriously and will resolve all issues before the end of 2023. He also emphasised that the management would come up with action plans to address issues related to transformer failure, overloaded feeders, and load shedding.
Mr. Femi Oke, Chairman of the Ajah customer engagement forum, highlighted the progress made in the last three years in the area by EKEDC.
He, however, noted that last year, electricity customers in Ajah complained a lot more about the lack of electricity supply. He said, “Although the supply has improved this year, the stability of the power supply remains an issue.”
Mr. Oke emphasized the need for tracking and timely resolution of electrical faults by EKEDC. He also expressed confidence that the management of DisCo would take customers’ contributions into consideration, particularly in the resolution of force and upgrade of their distribution network.
The Ajah Customer Forum Chairman acknowledged that supply in Ajah is much better than the previous year but noted that more can still be done to improve the situation.
Mr. Oke emphasised that efforts must be made by the DisCo to permanently fix load shedding in Ajah and also reduce fault resolution time.
Mr. Uche Iheakanwa, Chairman of the power committee of the Lekki Estate Resident Stakeholders Association (LERSA), in his remark, noted that there is assurance that all issues discussed at the forum will lead to a better quality of life for the customers.
According to him, the Lekki Ajah axis is one of the best urban city centers in Nigeria and a prime location that should enjoy a steady electricity supply.
He observed that the management of EKEDC has in the last few years been trying but charged that the efforts should be scaled up to provide optimal services to the customers in the Lekki/Ajah axis.
Mr. Iheakanwa stated that LERSA will offer EKEDC all the support needed to achieve optimal power supply and to address power supply issues in areas underserved and not served by the EKEDC.
