By Thompson ABISOLA
Ikeja Electric Plc (IE), has unveiled an ultra-modern PTC Undertaking office in GRA Ikeja, to provide customers improved access to quality service delivery.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr Anthony Youdeowei, told newsmen in Lagos on Monday that the company was working toward 24-hour electricity supply to residents within the GRA area.
Youdeowei said the newly-unveiled office was an upgraded facility designed to deliver positive experience to customers.
According to him, it would offer prompt attendance to clients’ queries with a highly effective point-of-sales self-service, fully automated Electronic Queue Management System (EQMS) and well-trained executive sales representatives.
He said the company in 2016, had promised to explore ways to improve supply, service and infrastructure for customers in Ikeja GRA.
“The promise of providing dedicated and premium power to GRA is already materialising.
“Customers in this vicinity will no doubt feel the positive impact of this state-of-the-art office which has come to complement our efforts to boost power supply in Ikeja GRA.
“As I speak with you, the quality of supply and service has improved tremendously as envisaged.
“Looking into the nearest future, we are working toward ensuring a 24-hour supply for residents of Ikeja GRA,’’ Youdeowei said.
He said that a dedicated team was created for prompt fault-clearing and maintenance of distribution transformers, thereby reducing downtime and achieving optimisation of installations.
The Youdeowei said this had also helped the company to sustain the efficiency required to boost service delivery in the community.
According to him, Ikeja Electric has achieved 95 per cent metering deployment both on the distribution transformers as well as for individual customers.
He said the company had increased the momentum in meter deployment across IE’s network and was optimistic that the exercise would further bridge the metering gap and evidently reduce the incidence of estimated billing.
“Let me also use this medium to debunk some of the misinformation in the public space that we sell meters for N100,000.
“ Please note that meters from Ikeja Electric are free and you do not have to pay for them.
“Based on business considerations, our strategy to metering is based on feeders and once it is the turn of your feeder, all customers on that feeder will be metered at no cost.
“ I solicit the assistance of our friends from the media to help us cascade this news to the public and provide the clarity,’’ he said.
Youdeowei also enumerated some of its ongoing projects and plans aimed at scaling up supply across its network to include: the Mushin 1x15MVA Injection Substation; and the new Oworo 15 MVA Injection Sub-Station billed for inauguration by the end of October 2018.
He said the electricity distribution company (DisCo) plans to replace two obsolete high voltage switch gears at Agege Injection substation in the first week of November, 2018.
He said the DisCo had flagged off the construction work on transformer repair workshop for immediate repairs of failed distribution transformer.
The IE boss said the company had also set up a preventive maintenance team to prevent failure of equipment and guarantee stable power supply.
According to him, the series of projects and upgrading of facilities will translate to improved services across our six business Units – Oshodi, Somolu, Abule-Egba, Ikorodu, Ikeja and Akowonjo.
“This is in line with our commitment toward enriching lives by means of our quality service that guarantees customers’ satisfaction.
“We will not stop aiming for the best. So we are poised to extend this upgrading to other facilities in our Undertakings,’’ Youdeowei said.
Mr Kola Adesina, the Group Managing Director, Sahara Power, said there was need for cost reflective tariff on power.
He added that the country’s power tariff per kilowatt pegged at N6 by government should be reversed.
Adesina said no distribution company in Nigeria could make any return on investment at N 6 per kilowatt per hour.
He, however, appealed to security personnel to support the ongoing crusade by the company to abolish energy theft and meter bye-passing by some customers, adding that such criminal act affected the company’s revenue.
