The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ikeja Electric

  • Consumers accuse Ikeja Electric of demanding money for meters

    Electricity consumers have accused officials of the Ikeja Electric (IE) of demanding between N25,000 and N35,000 from them before giving them pre-paid meters, The Nation has learnt.

    It was gathered that consumers in Alimosho Local Government Council and Igbogbo/Bayeeku Local Council Development Authority were directed by IE officials to pay N25,000 for a single-phase meter and N35,000 for double-phase. This is contrary to the stipulation of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) that no power distribution company (DisCo) or its agent must collect money from customers for meters.

    Areas visited by The Nation to ascertain the claims of the customers included Egbeda, Idimu, Ikotun, Igbogbo, Kobe, Ewu-Pako, Wagbare, Ololo (now Pineapple Estate),  Ofin, Agunfoye and Bayeeku( all in Alimosho and Igbobo/ Bayeeku Local Government Areas).

    It was gathered from the Business Unit of the power firm in Igbogbo that consumers were authorised by the firm to pay the money in cash to the unit after the firm had certified they did not owe bills.

    An official of the Business Unit who pleaded anonymity, said meters were available, adding that customers must meet their financial obligations to the company before they could get them.

    He said meters were available in Igbogbo/Bayeeku LCDA,  adding that customers are advised to apply for the meters in groups to fast-track the process of payment and collection of meters.

    A consumer, who did not want to be named, said he was yet to get a meter as he had not paid.

    It’s spokesman Mr. Felix Ofolue said the firm was only recovering the debts owed by consumers and not charging them for meters.

    He said the company introduced the strategy to help customers reduce their debt and to start on a clean slate.

    Ofolue said: “Our consumers are being misinformed.We at Ikeja Electric are not charging our customers before we give them meters. What we are doing is that we are helping customers to reduce debts owed in form of accumulated bills. We are saying that if a customer is owing a bill of N300,000 and he is able to pay  N100,000, he can be given a meter  By so doing, he has reduced his debt.

    “Similar strategy was adopted in the telecom industry, a situation whereby subscribers are advised to repay the loans on their phone by purchasing more airtime and further get bonus.  So, there is no criminal intention in what Ikeja Electric is doing. In fact, customers would benefit in the long run as they would be able to use their own meters while at the same time be free from debt.

  • Ikeja Electric promises improved power supply

    Ikeja Electric (IE) has assured its customers of improved electricity supply within its network throughout the sallah holidays.

    IE Corporate Communications Head Felix Ofulue, said the company would stop at nothing to ensure that all customers enjoy the holidays.

    He said: “Within our capacity, we will ensure that whatever allocation we receive from the national grid is distributed equitably to ensure improved supply within the period. Beyond that, we know that occurrence of faults may be beyond our control, but we have taken certain measures. These include an essential duty team which will be available during the holiday period, to ensure that faults are promptly cleared whenever the need arises. So, we wish to advise customers to call the customer care helplines or contact any of Ikeja Electric offices closest to them to report any fault.’’

    Ofolue said all hands were on deck to ensure consumers enjoy a memorable holiday period.

    He appealed to customers within its network to settle their monthly electricity bills promptly in order to avoid disconnection by the company.

    The IE official cautioned against harassment of its employees on duty, warning that the company’s management would explore all available legal options to seek redress.

  • Ikeja Electric promotes 299 workers

    Ikeja Electric (IE) has promoted about 299 of its workers across various grades and employed over 500 new ones in the last one year.

    A statement by the organization said the promotions cut across the junior and senior staff cadres at the company’s Head Office and six business units.

    In the senior cadre, 13 persons were promoted to Senior Managers, seven Managers, 15 become Assistant Managers, 121 become Supervisors, while one person rose to Grade Level I Officer.

    In the junior cadre, 38 technicians were elevated to Junior Grade Level 4, 86 persons across Technical, Commercial, Security, Internal Audit and Human Resources and Administrative Departments were promoted to Junior Grade Level 3 while 17 persons were promoted to Junior Grade Level 2.

    Chief Human Resources and Administration Officer Ibiene Okeleke said Ikeja Electric places a high premium on human capital development as a vital component of driving its commitment to providing the best possible service to customers.

    She added that the company employed over 500 new workers between August 2017 and now.

    Okeleke said: “At Ikeja Electric, we constantly recognise and motivate employees who are committed to delivering finest performance on the job, so this promotion is part of the systems we put in place to motivate performance among our employees.

    “It also attests to the fact that we value productivity and encourage career advancement for our workers…”

     

  • Ikeja Electric takes kick-malaria campaign to waterside communities

    Hundreds of waterside dwellers in Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Lagos Mainland, yesterday benefitted from a campaign against malaria organised by Ikeja Electric Plc.

    The residents also received free treated mosquito nets provided by the company, whose representatives admonished them on the need to keep their environment clean at all times.

    According to Oshodi Business Manager, Enobong Ezekiel, the campaign was part of the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).

    Ezekiel, who was represented by Mrs. Yewande Ogunsuji, said the company decided to focus on malaria this year because it was a silent killer.

    She said: “On Wednesday, the World’s Day against Malaria was celebrated. This is because it has gotten to the consciousness of health practitioners and policy makers that malaria kills faster than cancer.

    “Malaria is a deadly sickness but it is preventable. We have gone round waterside communities to enlighten them on the need to keep their environments clean. The mosquitoes that infect people with malaria breed in dirty and swampy environment.

    “We have also educated them on the need to visit health centres, hospitals whenever they feel sick and not resort to self-medication.

    “They should make it a habit to ensure drainages within their localities are not blocked. Through communal efforts, they should clear the drainages and any standing water, dispose waste properly.

    “Aside the health talks, we also distributed hundreds of treated mosquito nets, which can be used for two years, to the residents. All they have to do is ensure it doesn’t get torn and they should wash it whenever it is dirty. We have told them to expose the nets to the sun for about 12 hours before first use.”

    Aside the malaria prevention and treatment lectures, the residents were also enlightened on how to prevent electrocution.

    The company’s Safety Specialist, Olusegun Oguntana, said they should avoid fallen poles or snapped cables, adding that they should not touch wet street lights, poles.

    He said: “Sustained rainfall increases the likelihood of fallen poles, snapped cables and electrical accidents. Therefore, we advise that you do not climb trees near electric wires. Do not carry ladders or long poles, tools near electric wires.

    “Do not install antennas near electric poles; do not touch a fence or exit a car on which a wire has fallen unless you are sure that power has been cut off. Do not touch anyone already electrocuted because you may suffer the same fate. Never attempt to remove a fallen pole or cable by yourself and avoid installation of antennas, poled and electrical conducting materials during rainy season.”

    Among the areas visited were Ogundairo Estate, Waterside and Jubilee Close, both on Ago Palace Way.

  • My case against Ikeja Electric

    It is not in my character in over three decades of journalism practice to launch a direct attack on any entity for personal reasons. I got close to this (I guess sometime in 2001 or 2002) when the then National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) came up with a 50 percent rebate for debtors that were willing to pay 50 percent of what they owed.

    I was roped into that category, no thanks to their ‘crazy bills’. However, instead of taking advantage of the rebate to pay a debt I never owed, I wrote a letter of protest to them and machinery was set in motion to ascertain the veracity of my claim. To cut a long story short, they sent some of their staff to my place without notice on about two or three occasions and after writing their reports, they discovered that NEPA was the one owing me and gave me a credit balance.

    About 10 years later, I was a victim of yet another round of estimated billing, a thing I was told the NEPA staff did then either to punish people that were not playing ball or those who would always pay whatever they were asked to pay without asking questions. Depending on my mood,  I could fall under either category.

    I crave my readers’ indulgence to reproduce excerpts of the two emails I sent to the Ikeja Electric last year, none of which was replied. Both were addressed to the Undertaking Manager in Agege.

    1). “Dear Sir,

    INEXPLICABLE BILLING (METER NO. 0785125058737 (Account Number 0100536807 and old Account No. 078101167601)

    It is with a heavy heart that I wrote this protest note in the fervent hope that it would be given the desired attention by your organisation. I had forwarded a similar protest to your former chief executive but did not have a reply until his exit.

    Although this issue dates back to 2012, I had thought it would have been gone with the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), under which impunity and arbitrary billing reigned supreme.

    As you would have seen in some of my 2012 bills (which I hope to present if the need arises), my ‘current’ bill as at March 2012 was N4,389.30. This dropped to N1,206.50 by June of the same year. Three months later, this again jumped to N11,311.50. (Interestingly, it remained almost at that level till about November last year (2016, about four good years) when an enumerator came to assess our electricity consumption). Mind you, this was irrespective of whether there was electricity supply or not.

    Indeed, I remember two instances when we did not have electricity for 21 consecutive days in the dark days of the PHCN; and another when our lights did not blink once in nine days; yet, the bills remained constant at N11,000+ or close to it …

    As a responsible citizen, I am ready to pay for the electricity consumed in my house. But I detest the situation where I am being harassed based on rule of thumb billing. The result of that abnormal and irrational system is the accumulation of the huge debt that my bill now carries despite the fact I always paid an average of N5,000 monthly then for the darkness that PHCN supplied. Obviously, the N6,000+ that I refused to pay is what has now grown in the six years to the N300,000+.

    …Mercifully, when the enumerator visited our house, I was around and I had a chat with him. He promised to ensure that the right thing was done. I never believed any good thing would come out of the chat since I have been used to that in the past, the only thing was that the PHCN people hardly disconnected our light because of my bill because they knew what the problem was. However, I was proved wrong. My bill, ever since the enumerator came, just like most other people’s bills in the area, has hardly exceeded N5,000+ per month. The present billing system may still not be the best; at least it seems a better reflection of the electricity consumed in the area. The ultimate, though, is for all electricity consumers to have their individual meters. I recall February 2017 when we had to pay about N2,000; there was total blackout for about two consecutive weeks. In the past, the N11,000 would have been constant. You will agree with me that this is not only unfair; it is ungodly to expect any right-thinking person to pay such bill. It should have no place under the present dispensation.

    My point is that yes, my bill may carry a debt of N300,000 plus, it was the result of the rip-off of the past, especially against the backdrop of the fact that I was always paying about N5,000 monthly then, even when electricity was not supplied for weeks. No one who works hard for his money would be dropping N11,000 in the coffers of an electricity firm that billed customers by rule of thumb. If there are proper records, I should be having some refund from Ikeja Electric (as offshoot of PHCN). I am not asking for that, but the company should also do well to look at issues such as this on a case-by-case basis rather than insisting that customers pay for what they did not consume simply because that is what is in the record. Some of these records are simply as questionable, doubtful, dubious and unreliable as they can be, at least against the background of the afore-mentioned case.

    Thank you in anticipation of your favourable response to my complaint.”

    2). Dear Sir,

    AGAIN, INEXPLICABLE BILLING (METER NO. 0785125058737 (Account Number 0100536807 and old Account No. 078101167601)

    You would recall that I sent a letter to you in respect of the above, specifically on June 8, 2017.

    Even as I am still awaiting the reply to that, I got another shocker when I received my May 2017 electricity bill last week …

    It would interest you to note that throughout May, those of us in the above-mentioned area (and maybe others sharing transformer with us) did not have electricity supply for about 25 consecutive days. Naturally, this should reflect on our bills; unfortunately, it did not, as I was still slammed N5,325.00 for (energy charges!), about the usual amount that I have been charged monthly in the last few months. As I stated in my earlier letter, it was this kind of practice that made my bill to accumulate to about N300,000+ in about six years, as I only paid about half of the N11,000+ I was usually charged monthly …

    Indeed, this is the grouse of many Nigerians: that one cap fits all billing system is unsustainable. Whatever method used in determining the kind of bill that would make consumers pay for electricity that was not supplied for more than three quarters of the month is unjustifiable and unfair.

    I believe, strongly as many Nigerians do, that Ikeja Electric would have been more concerned than us if we do not have electricity supply for this long period, if prepaid meters are provided customers. This is so because they would realise that the meters would not be running and, ipso facto, nothing will be coming to their coffers for as long as such a situation persisted  …

    Indeed, it is this estimated billing that has made many Nigerians resentful of tariff increase. The implication of approving tariff increase where customers are not metered appropriately is that people like us whose light did not blink for 25 consecutive days would still be forced to pay the percentage increase based on the unreliable billing method …

    Thank you sir.”

    Having sent these two mails, albeit in quick succession (one on June 8, 2017 and the other on June 23, 2017), I felt I deserved a response. It is either Ikeja Electric agreed with me or it disagreed, stating reasons for whatever position it adopted. That, I think, is the essence of giving out their email address, so as to get in touch with the company and get a faster response. Interestingly, Ikeja Electric acknowledged receipt of the mails. Why it did not feel they deserved a dignifying reply, I do not know.

    But, when instead of having replies to your mails, what you see are the company’s staff going about with ladders to disconnect customers’ (including those of us who wrote to them and never got a reply) light, then, something is wrong somewhere. They did the same thing last Wednesday and that was when I said enough was enough. Ikeja Electric should stop this undue harassment over a debt I never owed. It is only in Nigeria that marketers of an electricity firm would tell their customers they (marketers) have financial targets to meet. When I asked them in return whether they do not have productivity targets, they simply crawled back to their shells; they had no answer.

    When I received acknowledgements of the two mails I sent the same day, I thought it was a new dawn in terms of customer relations in our power sector. But over nine months after getting the acknowledgement of receipt of the mails, no one has responded to me soon, as I was assured in the mails. Mum has remained the word from Ikeja Electric.

    The NEPA mentality is still very much with our power sector operators.I recall when delegates of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) paid this newspaper a visit last year and I told them my plight, one of them merely retorted that I had to pay at least a part of that debt. What debt, if I may ask? Then, on Thursday, one of the elders in our area who went to the Ikeja Electric office in Agege over the disconnection returned with the expected news that we have to pay at least 20 percent of the estimated bills before talking of having prepaid meters! In other words, this is the official mentality in the power sector.

    Anyway, I have only decided to do this friendly fire as the first in the series of steps I have lined up to fight this cause. As the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti sang, ‘according to complaint, complaint must get answer’. I need an answer to the posers raised in my mails. When I get that, I will then know what next to do. Nigeria must be the only country where people are forced to pay for what they did not buy. In my part of the country, that is forbidden. Our brethren will tell you it is not their portion in Jesus’ name!

    So, it is not my portion either.

  • Ikeja Electric to customers: desist from energy theft, vandalism

    The management of Ikeja Electric has appealed to customers to desist from meter bypass, vandalism and tampering with facilities, including meters, as anyone caught will be prosecuted.

    Its Head of Corporate Communication, Mr. Felix Ofulue, made the appeal when the leadership of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC), led by its new Chairman, Olatunde Dodondawa, visited the distribution company at its Ikeja head office.

    He stressed that the company was committed to metering customers within its network as soon as possible. According to Ofulue, the company has since launched concerted effort aimed at curbing unethical practices across its network and also encouraged customers to report such practices.

    “Very soon, there will be massive prosecution of those that have tampered with meters, and we are going to step up on that because the rate at which people tamper with their meters is very high. We are not going to accept a situation where something is supplied and it is not paid for,” Ofulue stated.

    Also, he explained that metering is one of the major items to be addressed by Ikeja Electric when handling over estimated billing.He noted that: “With these meters, the customers can regulate their consumption unlike the estimated billing or post-paid where they hardly notice the units consumed. They can manage their own consumption and it makes them to pay for what they consumed. To the distribution company, meters relieve the firm the cost and staff the burden of preparing and distributing bills. With meters, DisCos will collect revenue maximally without estimated billing.”

    He also condemned the increasing vandalism of equipment within its operation, adding that it has forced the company to spend money meant for other electricity development projects on repairs.

    He said electricity materials such as cables and wires, among others, had either been stolen or vandalised.

    Ofulue called on energy reporters to help educate consumers on the challenges of the power sector and the need for customers to pay their bills.

    He maintained that a  lot of electricity consumers in Nigeria are oblivious of the transition that has happened from public to private enterprise and as such do not see electricity as a commodity to be bought and paid for. They, therefore devise multiple ways of engaging in electricity theft through meter tampering or outright bypass.

  • Ikorodu communities decry mass disconnection by Ikeja Electric

    CONSUMERS in Ikorodu, Lagos,  have condemned the Ikeja Electric (IE)  for disconnecting two communities  because of the non-payment of bills by some of them.

    They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday that the firm’s action amounted to jungle justice.

    The customers  urged IE to  provide pre-paid meters for all  consumers to prevent  the disconnection of an entire community because of a few defaulters.

    Ereko and Ajegunle communities at Ita-Oluwo in  Ikorodu were disconnected   last month because of the non-payment of bills by some customers.

    An official of one of the Community Development Associations (CDAs), Alhaji Jimoh Yusuf, wondered why  IE would punish ‘’committed customers’’ for others’ misdeeds.

    “Depriving one’s customers from enjoying the service paid for will only aggravate anger, frustration and disappointment and will reduce the status of such a company before the public,” he said.

    Mrs Deborah Akinola, another CDA official, said IE’s strategy showed that it lacked an effective enforcement regime for bills collection.

    “The company is simply punishing the innocent for its own inefficiency and disorganised revenue collection structure, and this is not fair,’’ she said.

    A resident, Mr Femi Tofunmi, said IE should realise that it did not provide any of the facilities used to transmit electricity to the communities.

    “Everything from poles, electricity wires and transformers we provided through the efforts of the CDA members.

    “The communities practically provided all the facilities for transmitting electricity into their houses and so should enjoy some measure of consideration when punishment is to be meted out to erring customers.

    An IE official at Odogunyan, which covers the affected communities, said the firm was compelled to take such measure from experience.

    He said the debt owed the company was too much and was increasing monthly.

    “Ereko Community alone has a total bill amounting to about N1.7 million for January and as at the last week of February, only less than N220,000 has been paid.

    “I am not mentioning the backlog of debts that runs into millions of naira and we all know that the company has to pay for the energy it buys and supplies to these areas,” he said.

  • Ikeja Electric takes safety awareness to school

    An electricity distribution company, Ikeja Electric Plc (IE) has equipped pupils of Estate Junior Grammar School, Ijaiye-Ogba, Lagos, with safety training material.

    Tagged Power Play, it is the firm’s proprietary board game, designed as an education and entertainment tool.

    The game, a registered trademark of Ikeja Electric, is conceptualised and manufactured locally. It comprises a segmented board, dice, tokens and labelled cards with instructions on how to play.

    It provides information relating to hazards and common violations as well as other operational aspects of the business, to customers in IE network, in a family-friendly format.

    During the unveiling yesterday, IE’s Head of Corporate Communications, Felix Ofulue, said the risks and hazards of the electricity sector needed to be communicated in a creative way, such that all customers including family units could embrace tenets of safety and care, while enjoying fun time.

    According to him, “The changing communications landscape is a major factor in IE’s quest to seek innovative ways of sharing important messaging that cuts across all customer segments. We have to find creative ways to communicate to all stakeholders in a manner that is both fun and factual. This is why we have created Power Play and we hope it will provide helpful information that will reduce accidents, protect from hazards, help provide operational information and even save lives,” he said.

    The choice of the launch location, Ofulue said, was strategic in order to make the pupils become champions of safety education.

    “We are beginning with our secondary school children as we believe that they will best embrace the knowledge embedded in the game and of course they will champion the fun-learning process in their various families,” he said.

    Lagos State Safety Commission Director-General Hakeem Dickson said the game will inculcate safety-consciousness in the pupils.

    The game, he said, will keep the children away from criminal activities and also aid their learning.

  • From Ikeja Electric: Voodoo business model

    From Ikeja Electric (IE), one of Nigeria’s pampered electricity distribution companies (DISCOs), having a harsh and grating disco party, by recklessly raiding helpless consumers, for services proudly un-rendered.   It is nothing but a voodoo business model.

    That model is simple: be the last to render service — if any.  But be the first to tender the bill for payment — or else?  It’s a formula that works like mad; and why change a winning formula?  Indeed, why?

    IE is just flush from dispatching bills, for electricity allegedly consumed, for the month of September — and the DISCO from Ikeja would appear even more prompt than prompt.  Yet, (dis)service for the month was as laggardly — if at all — as it could ever be.

    Why? IE even has the audacity to quote electricity allegedly consumed, in the worst tradition of a corporate unarmed robber — or in which sort of business would you deliver little or no service but demand full payment, with a threat of disconnection?

    The allegedly consumed electricity?  Voodoo, pure and simple.  Just take a casual look at the bill demand, courtesy of a telephone text, sent to a customer:

    “Dear account number (specific number deliberately omitted)” goes the message, “Your consumption for September 2017 is 210.00Kwh (pray expert electrical engineers, how many hours of darkness does that translate into?).  Current charge is N, 696.65. Arrears is N18.21.  Please pay to avoid service disruption.”

    Holy Moses!  But IE’s “service” is mainly disruption, if any!

    Now, if you study the so-called “arrears” of N18.21, it was for darkness consumed for a certain month in 2016, after which IE rolled out a uniform bill.  That was September 2016; and back then, there was such a howl of protest that even IE realised its greed had gone too far for the consumer it routinely cheats not to notice.  So, it cuts back on its bill the following month, but greedily chalks away the so-called arrears as part of the voodoo and phantom debts, it carries in its books!

    By the way, this strategy of bill-and-threaten IE specially reserves for the helpless customers it has refused to meter, against the instruction of the industry regulator.  For those adequately metered, they have ceased to be helpless pool of fraudulent nourishment for IE.  The question is how long would IE continue this reckless gambit without something giving?

    The regulatory authorities should call IE to order before things go out of hand.  You can’t be cheating customers and vaulting it at their faces.  You can’t be distilling darkness, and yet be sending disconnection gangs to threaten customers each time you roll out your voodoo bills.

    The regulators should act fast and compel IE to meter its customers, so it can bill for electricity consumed.

    It is the right thing to do.  Besides, it is absolutely impossible to be hostage to corporate un-armed robbery as a profit strategy.  It’s nothing but voodoo strategy that will end in grief.

  • Scores benefit from Ikeja Electric’s medical outreach

    Several landlords and residents of Oshodi-Isholo Local Government Area yesterday benefitted from a free medical outreach organised by Ikeja Electric Plc (IKDC).

    The outreach, which featured diagnosis of various non-communicable ailments, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, eye screening, malaria, among others, was done in conjunction with XT Monitors and a United States of America (U.S.A) based group, U.S Medical Mission.

    The programme, with the theme: We Care About Your Health, drew people from Ejigbo, Oshodi, Isolo, Jakande, Okota and other areas to the district head office on Okota Road.

    According to the district’s Business Manager, Mrs. Enobong Ezekeil, the outreach was part of IKDC’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the community.

    The manager said the objective was to reach out to their customers on specific health-related issues

    She said: “IKDC is in the Safety sector and health is also safety. We are interested in building good relationships with our customers. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about the Power sector.

    “We look out for something that would be beneficial to our customers so that they know we actually do care for them outside their paying for the services we render.

    “There is a universal, national health concern. Diabetes, hypertension and malaria are of major concern to all facets of the country.

    “Hopefully, the outreach would be an annual thing because we believe that our partnership with XT Monitors has come to stay.

    “Each of the beneficiaries was given a form to fill. After their examination and prescriptions, they will take the forms back to their doctors for further check-ups.”

    XT Monitors Managing Director, Kayode Adeoti, hailed IKDC for showing concern about the health of its customers.

    He said the health of the consumers would enable them take up their services.

    Adeoti said: “There’s a lot of apathy between consumers and energy distribution companies. So, I believe this outreach was timely. The company cares about the health of its consumers, especially landlords and tenants, who fall between the age bracket of the people who suffer diabetes and hypertension.

    “Basically, we plan our outreach to be an annual event because of the cost of bringing the doctors down to Nigeria. At the moment, we have 10 doctors from the U.S.A for this project.”

    Some of the beneficiaries praised IKDC for the gesture, saying they were pleased with the free medication they got.

    Mrs. Erinfolami Florence, 60, a resident of Ejigbo, who said she was hypertensive, told The Nation she recently started having optical challenges.