The Nation Newspaper

Tag: electricity firm

  • Group sues electricity firm

    The Balanced Measure Impact Initiative has urged the Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), and the National Assembly to address the estimated billings which has become too outrageous that the common man can’t afford to pay.

    It also lamented the increased use of military personnel to delaod transformer.

    Ogun State chairman of the organisation, Otunba Lukmon, and his Ado/Odo-Ota counterpart Taiwo Ismael, who addressed reporters at the High Court in Ota, Ogun State, expressed their dissatisfaction over Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) in handling the matter.

  • Electricity firm to replace 200,000 meters

    Two hundred thousand  meters in the jurisdiction of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) will be withdrawn gradually,  the Chairman, Dr. Tunde Ayeni, has said.

    He spoke when he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Trans-Sahara Consortium in Ibadan, Oyo State, to provide smart meters.

    Ayeni said the old meters will  be replaced with smart meters that will eliminate sharp practices.

    He said over 200,000 meters would be replaced with smart meters at no extra cost.

    Ayeni said there will be an in-house and external meter with a control panel that will notify the consumer once the card is about to finish, adding that any interference with the meter will make it to shut down.

    He said: “This is an investment drive to provide optimum service for our customers within our area of franchise. We are partnering Trans Sahara Consortium to install smart metering programme within our areas of distribution. This MoU we have signed today will attract an investment of $400 million to cover the metering plan and infrastructure upgrade within our coverage areas.

    “This new technology has been installed in 32 countries. It is a technology that is just coming to Nigeria. This will solve the problem of mistrust between consumers and Discos. It will allow us to monitor electricity consumption and it is a self auditing system that takes control out of the hands of humans and allows us to know exactly what has been consumed.”

    According to him, the smart metering system shuts down each appliances in the home when the card is getting low and shuts it completely when it finishes.

     

  • Electricity firm seeks support against vandalism

    Electricity firm seeks support against vandalism

    The Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) has urged members of the public to help contain the activities of vandals, which are affecting the power supply in the zone.
    The Senior Corporate Communication Officer of the company, Mr Kingsley Nkemneme, made the call in an interview with reporters in Yola.
    Nkemneme said in the past two months, no fewer than 10 transformers were vandalised.
    “Our properties worth millions of naira were vandalised by insurgents, which we are trying to replace only to be faced with this raising problem of vandals,” he said.
    Nkemneme hailed the effort of Mijili community in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa who assisted in arresting a vandal, and urged other communities to emulate them.
    “We want to urge the public to be active participants in helping us to serve them better.
    “Whoever they saw around our facility who claimed to be our staff must tender genuine ID card of YEDC.
    “The public need to know that while we suffer economic losses due to activities of vandals, which is pure economic sabotage, they (public) experience hardship due to lack of power supply caused by the vandals,” he said.
    On shortage of pre-paid metres, Nkemneme assured that the company was set to acquire 130,000 metres under its first phase of metering for the year.

    He also said the company had recently installed 240 single phase high voltage transformers to boost power supply in the zone.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the YEDC is covering Adamawa, Borno, Yobe and Taraba states.

  • Electricity firm fires 27 workers

    Electricity firm fires 27 workers

    The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has disengaged 27 workers for alleged corruption and indiscipline, it was learnt yesterday.

    Inside sources said AEDC’s Director of Corporate Services, Abimbola Odubiyi, informed the workers via an internal memo dated September 16.

    Seventeen had their appointments terminated; others were dismissed and may probably lose their benefits.

    The sources added that several others were reprimanded for various offences.

  • Court urged to void Fed Govt’s payment to electricity firm

    A Federal High in Abuja has been urged to void an alleged multibillion naira payment made on behalf of the Federal Government under the Goodluck Jonathan administration to a firm Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited.

    The firm is owned by former Military Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, ex-Rivers State Governor Peter Odili and others.

    The request formed part of the reliefs in a suit filed by a lawyer, Baribefi Tebira, who is querying the integrity of the process leading to the Fed Govt’s alleged payment of the various amounts of N4.9b, $59m and $87.8m between 2013 and 2015 to Integrated Energy through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), National Council on Privatization (NCP) and Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

    The suit queried, among others, the propriety of the force majeure declared by Integrated Energy about 10 days after it took over the management of Yola Electricity Distribution Company (Yola Disco), following which it was paid N4.9b, $59m and $87.8m through the BPE, NCP and NERC.

    Defendants in the suit include Integrated Energy, Yola Electricity Distribution Company, BPE, NCP, NERC, Federal Ministry of Power and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).

    Tebira, in his statement of claim, stated that upon the execution of a Share Sale Agreement of February 21, 2013, Integrated Energy paid the Fed Govt $59m for the acquisition of 51 per cent as the majority shareholder of Yola Disco.  He added that Integrated Energy took over the management of Yola Disco in August 2013 after executing a Performance Agreement dated August 21, 2013 between it, BPE and Yola Disco.

    The plaintiff stated that about 10 days after taking over the management of Yola Disco, Integrated Energy, through its Chairman, John Olatunde Ayeni, “declare political force majeure in its letter to the Director General of BPE,” on the ground that the various attacks by Boko Haram in its areas of operation have affected its operation and earnings.

    “Due to the constant and incessant complaints by the 1st defendant (Integrated Energy), on the basis that due to the nature of the severity of the Book Haram attacks it has recorded negative cash flow for 11 months and its revenue generated could not sustain the business of power distribution in the four states under its jurisdiction, the 3rd, 4th,, 5th and 6th defendants decided to compensate the 1st defendant to the cumulative tune of N4.9b.”