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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Following the controversy surrounding the poor performance of the metering programme, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), said that it has distributed over 70, 000 meters between last year and the last two months of January and February this year.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AEDC, Engineer Chijioke Okwuokenye who revealed this when he addressed a select group of journalists in Abuja, also said that the customers have, therefore been moved from estimated billing to credible billing system.
The step, according to him, would improve customer satisfaction, customer confidence and liquidity in the market.
Disclosing his achievements since he assumed office, Okwuokenye noted that there’s a great improvement in the distribution of free meters.
“We’ve also done a number of investment in increasing power reliability.
We can assure customers that they will be experiencing nothing less than 20 hours of uninterrupted power because we are creating redundancy——bringing in new feeders and ensuring that even when there are faults and outages, we can do back-feeding.
“We have a plan, which the regulator (Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission) is even currently reviewing and that is to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the industrial area” he said.
According to the MD, AEDC has moved away from a past era of accumulating market debts and it’s now fully liquid in its dealings within the power value chain.
“Before now, our company was known for owing significant debts to the market because we were unable to meet our payment obligations. That is no longer the case. Today, we are meeting 100 per cent of our obligations and paying down legacy debts,” he said.
He explained that improved remittances by distribution companies are critical to stabilising the entire electricity value chain, noting that when DisCos fail to pay for energy received, generation companies are unable to meet their own obligations, thereby weakening supply across the grid.
Beyond financial reforms, Okwuokenye disclosed that AEDC increased the volume of energy distributed by nearly 15 per cent in the past year, describing it as “real electrons going through the grid.”
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He said the company has also intensified efforts to reduce technical and commercial losses, stressing that lowering system losses would ultimately drive down tariffs over time.
Okwuokenye further disclosed that AEDC is investing in network upgrades and new feeders to improve supply reliability, assuring customers that from mid-March, several areas would experience improved power supply averaging not less than 80 hours weekly in some clusters.
To strengthen supply, he said that the company is pursuing embedded generation projects, including plans to build three 10-megawatt solar plants across its franchise areas, with capacity expandable to 30 megawatts as demand grows.
He also noted ongoing franchise and mini-grid partnerships to attract private capital into underserved areas within the Federal Capital Territory, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger states.
Addressing concerns over electricity tariffs, Okwuokenye maintained that energy is inherently costly to produce and distribute but noted that AEDC’s focus goes beyond pricing.
“The conversation is beyond tariff. It is about creating value and empowering lives,” he said.
He argued that sustainable tariff reductions would depend largely on increasing energy volume and cutting losses, including energy theft and non-payment of bills.
“If we reduce losses and push more energy into the system, tariffs will naturally moderate because electricity is a volume business,” he stated, calling on customers to support efforts to curb illegal connections and ensure prompt bill payments.
He added that discussions are ongoing with the Federal Government on implementing more targeted subsidies for vulnerable consumers, expressing confidence that ongoing reforms would yield visible improvements within the next year.
While acknowledging current supply challenges, Okwuokenye urged customers to remain patient, saying the company has put in place clear long-term plans to stabilise supply, deepen investments and reposition AEDC as one of the leading distribution utilities in West Africa.ENDS
