ABUJA – The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) on Tuesday said it had provided prepayment meters for 404,000 electricity consumers since it began operations.
Managing Director of the company, Mr Neil Croucher, made this known in Abuja at a public consultation on the Credited Advance Payment for Metering (CAPMI) organised by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
CAPMI is an arrangement between the electricity distribution companies and willing consumers to advance funds for the purchase and installation of meters.
Croucher, who was represented by Mr Abimbola Ogunbiyi, Executive Director, Regulation and Stakeholders Affairs, said that AEDC would provide 8,000 meters for its consumers monthly in 2015.
He said that the company was committed to phasing out the estimated billing system as soon as possible by providing prepayment meters to all its consumers.
He stressed that the company adopted the CAPMI to make meters available to its numerous customers.
He stated that options available to the company to bridge the metering gap is through mass provision of meters and CAPMI scheme, adding that 12, 628 consumers registered under the scheme had paid for the meters.
Earlier, Vice Chairman of NERC, Mr Mohammed Bello, who represented the chairman, Dr Sam Amadi, said that the meeting was aimed at interacting with consumers to resolve problems in the sector.
He urged AEDC to improve on its customer service in order to resolve contentious issues.
In his speech, Mr Shaubu Shittu, Assistant General Manager, Government and Consumer Affairs of NERC, said that CAPMI would minimise estimation of electricity bills and enhance revenue for the company.
He advised consumers who paid for meters to always insist on its installation within 45 days, saying that one of the priorities of NERC was speedy metering of consumers.
He acknowledged that the commission had received numerous complaints from customers and said that it was an indication of a high level dissatisfaction with the billing system of electricity distribution companies.
Shittu said that NERC was considering the exploration of other avenues of metering customers in order to eliminate estimated bills syndrome. (NAN)
