Electricity supply in Ibadan communities of Oyo State Nigeria has improved appreciably in the last two weeks. The residents are taking the near steady electricity with a pint of salt.
Newspot survey in areas of Ashipa, Elebu, Orita Challenge, Challenge/ Molete areas showed residents in these ares are enjoying Band B, for now to their satisfaction.
Some of those spoken with were not sure if what they were experiencing could be real as they had perpetually been in darkness for the past three years.
Chief Rufus Akingbehin from Orita Challenge said” I don’t know whether to congratulate Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) for an improved performance or hold it till some weeks ahead . If it icontnues like this I will know iit is not a fluke.
” That we are getting light in the afternoon and night baffles most of us. If it stays like this or improves substantially then we will toast to men and women at their headquarters at Ring Road Ibadan.”
Samples of opinions by newspot correspondents showed similar comments.
However the (IBEDC) has clarified that the consequent increment in tariff is helping Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to improve the quality of service they render. It also said the increment has affected all customers in its franchise.
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the firm, John Ayodele, made this known during a media briefing where he provided clarifications on why the implementation had been long overdue
According to him, the increment would not affect all segments of customers.
Customers have been grouped into bands A to E based on the average daily hours of electricity supply received daily over a period of a month and only those in bands A to C will be affected, for now, he said.
Group A customers are those who receive 20 hours and above, group B customers receive between16 and less than 20 hours, C receives 12 and less than 16 hours, D receives eight and less than 12 and E receive four and less than eight hours.
For example, Ayodele said, DisCos ensured a monthly shortfall of between N3 billion and N3.5 billion. In 2020 alone, they have a shortfall of N27 billion and a debt of N243 billion since privatisation, as of December 2019.
Before the latest introduction, the DisCos had not been able to recover and settle debts and this increased poverty in the system. It affected them heavily, he complained, because the investments required to improve services in the sector require huge capital which the DisCos don’t have.
On estimated billing, Ayodele said it did not pay DisCos to estimate customers’ bills, arguing that they suffered losses because most customers are under-billed. He encouraged customers to get metered and avoid estimated billing.
He, however, noted that the expected improvement in service wouldn’t be immediate as it will take some time for the firm to get some of the equipment needed for an infrastructural upgrade.
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