28 February 2014, Abuja – The House of Representatives Committee on Power has asked the new investors in the power sector to step up efforts aimed at improving electricity generation, transmission and distribution in the country.
Speaking yesterday at the official inauguration of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)/Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) Customer Forum office in Lagos, a member of the committee, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said since the official handover of the assets of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to the new owners in November 2013, electricity supply in the country had dropped.
She also stated that prepaid meters had suddenly disappeared, especially in rural areas and charged the new investors to ensure that an effective meter scheme was rolled out for electricity consumers.
Dabiri-Erewa urged electricity consumers to take advantage of the new NERC Forum office in Eko to seek redress when necessary. Also speaking, the Chairman of West Power and Gas Limited, the new owners of Eko Disco, Mr. Charles Momoh, said his company planned to invest about N42 billion to upgrade existing network facilities.
He also stated that since the take-over of the power asset, the company had studied the system as a means to better provide effective, efficient and sustained power supply to consumers.
Momoh, who was represented by a director of the company, Mr. Tunji Owolafe, noted that the next three months would be used to carry out rehabilitation exercise on the network and the setting up of a robust metering system for electricity consumers. Commenting on the NERC/Eko forum office, the Managing Director, of Eko DISCO, Mr. Oladele Amoda said it was a clear confirmation of the company’s readiness to abide by the rules and regulations binding its operations and activities as they strived to give their customers best service delivery.
“We have long before now been having a symbiotic working relationship with NERC in ensuring adherence to global best practices in our day to day operations. Today’s occasion therefore is not the beginning of the relationship between Eko Electricity Distribution Company and the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, rather it is a fortification of an already strong and robust relationship,” he said.
Amoda further noted that the inauguration of the forum office did not in any way obliterate the significance of the company’s own internal customer complaint resolution mechanism.
– This Day