By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has announced preparations for the installation of 65,000 meters in Niger and Kogi states in line with its commitment to metering all its customers across its area of operation.
This announcement is coming just as the company explained that the load shedding currently being experienced in its franchise area was as a result of the drop in load allocated to it by the System Operator.
The AEDC said in a statement issued today in Abuja that while the installation of 5,000 meters for its customers in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital is scheduled to commence before the end of this month, preparations are at an advanced stage for the flag off of connection of 60,000 meters for customers in various parts of Niger State, by the end of January, 2017.
Reiterating its commitment to metering all its customers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger states, the Company said it was optimistic that providing such meters will address most misunderstandings associated billing issues and reinforce customers’ confidence in its services.
In the meantime, the AEDC has blamed the rising load shedding of electricity in its franchise area to the recent drop in electricity generation, saying that the quantum of energy allocated to it from the national grid fell far short of what it had been receiving some months ago.
While urging its customers in Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger states to discountenance insinuations that it was deliberately starving them of electricity, the Company’s management stressed that when there is limited power available to it, load shedding to its customers in the FCT and the three states becomes inevitable.
It, therefore, appealed for the understanding of its customers over the recent developments, assuring that it had never failed to distribute the load allocated to it by the System Operator since November 2013 when the current Management took over the Company.
The AEDC explained further that it had over time taken load in excess of its allocation in order to meet customers’ demand. “When there is extra load in the system, we have always taken it in order to ensure that we meet the demands of our customers”, the AEDC management stressed.
Reiterating its appeal to the customers, the Company assured that it would continue to optimise its load shedding to ensure that all its customers are given fair consideration in the distribution of energy allocated to it.
Adedapo Adesanya