KEDCO laments customers’ attitude towards payment of bills

The attitude of some electricity consumers in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states towards payment of electricity bills has been identified as the major obstacle hindering revenue generation of the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO).

Five years after its inception, the company is still battling with the problem of collection of electricity fees from its customers in the three states, the Managing Director of the company, Alhaji Jamilu Isyaku
Gwamna, lamented.

Gwamna, who made the disclosure at the company’s annual marketing conference held in Minjibir Park in Minjibir local government area of Kano state.

The marketing conference, Kano Chronicle observed, was an annual event organized for KEDCO staff with a view to reviewing the successes and challenges encountered witnessed by the company in the outgoing
year.

The conference is also an opportunity for the personnel to brainstorm among themselves on how to address the problems affecting the company in order to improve on its service delivery.

This year’s conference was focused on the challenges the company is facing in collection of electricity fees.

According to the managing director of the company, many electricity consumers in Kano the three states were not paying their electricity bills whenever they were approached.

“Though we have improved on our service delivery and we have captured quite a number of customers in our database, yet many customers are not willing to settle their bills for the electricity they consumed. So, our greatest challenge is collection of electricity fees
from our customers,” he lamented.

Kano Chronicle recalled that recently some angry youths in Sharadan-Mallam in the state metropolis have allegedly attacked personnel of the
company attached to disconnection and revenue collection team who went to the area to discharge their official responsibilities.

Two of the personnel, Ali Mohammed and Abdulkadir Adamu Waziri had sustained various degrees of injuries during the unfortunate incident.

The Sharada Customer Service Point (CSP) Supervisor, Mohammed Ismaila Isah, was quoted as saying “my team was assaulted by some overzealous customers who declined to settle their accumulated electricity bills and also resisted disconnection of power supply to
their residences.”

Isah, who led the operation to the area, stated that the female staff in the team were also molested, booed and warned not to return to the area or face stiffer harassment.

“We deliver about 20 hours of electricity to Sharada community but we get strong resistance from especially the residential customers each
time we carry out operation to retrieve the accumulated debts from this area.

“Those customers have no respect for women because they attempted to strip our female staff necked yesterday, but the intervention of some
good Samaritans we were rescued,” he said.

However, Gwamna said despite the customers’ attitude towards payment of electricity bills, KEDCO was set to generate N4bn next year, noting that although the company was operating at lost, but the target,
was achievable.

He said the company’s revenue generation was gradually increasing, as according to him N2bn was generated in 2017 and N2.7bn in 2018 respectively.

“Although we are not able to generate N4bn this year, however, we will not relent in our efforts to generate it next year. However, our major concern is the attitude of some of our customers who developed
the habit of not paying their electricity bills.

He said since customers had witnessed improvement in electricity supply they should also ensure prompt payment of their electricity bills to enable the company moving.

Gwamna said unlike before, Kano is now getting up to 300mwts as against the 100mwts it was getting some months back.

The KEDCO boss said Kano needs between 6000mwts and 7000mwts and the company had the capacity of accommodating up to 1,800mwts; assuring that the company would continue to improve, prove on its services.

He therefore urged electricity consumers in the three states to always ensure prompt payment of their electricity bills, saying “It is only when
they pay that the company can improve on its services.

“The company cannot afford to miss its revenue. Any Kobo that is meant for KEDCO, we will pursue it until we get it and put it into the company’s coppers. We mean business and we are committed to it.”