Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has said the act of bypassing electricity meters was responsible for estimated billing, otherwise known as “crazy bill” in most communities.
The Managing Director, EKEDC, Dr Tinuade Sanda, made this known at a customer engagement forum organised by the Disco held in Lagos recently.
Customers at the forum were drawn from various areas under Orile District, including Surulere, Aguda, Coker, Orile, Ikate, Animashaun and Doyin zones.
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Sanda, who was represented by the company’s Chief Finance Officer, Mr Joseph Esenwa, said the essence of the meeting was to collaborate with customers.
She said the town hall meeting also created an avenue to interface with customers and address issues confronting various communities under EKEDC’s network.
The EKEDC boss reiterated that estimated billing was a product of energy theft within a community, which included bypassing electricity meters.
According to her, the act of bypassing electricity meters is one of the major causes of estimated billing.
“As a company, we bill accurately based on consumption on every feeder, while we also discovered that some customers engage in energy theft within the communities.
“There is a need for every customer to be vigilant to identify those engaging in energy theft in the communities,” she said.
Sanda said the company would commence the installation ion of meters on poles to curb energy theft and bypass meters within its network.
On metering, Sanda said the company had commenced effective metering through the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme where meters would be installed within 10 working days after confirmation of payment.
She urged customers to key into the MAP scheme as a way of addressing estimated billings.
She said the company had installed over 78,000 free meters under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) Phase 0 Scheme.
According to her, the NMMP is an initiative of the Federal Government, where meters are provided to customers for free, and the goal, of the initiative, is to meter all customers within five years (2025).
She said the NMMP had been suspended, hence Phase 1 of the programme was yet to commence.
“Pending when it commences, l urge you to key into the ongoing MAP scheme; all is to eliminate estimated billing and bridge the metering gap. The more customers that participate in the scheme, the better our chances of metering all customers,” she said.
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