By Adedapo Adesanya
The Managing Director of the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED), Mr Abdu Mohammed, has lamented the huge debt of N120 billion owed by customers in its four franchise states of Gombe, Bauchi, Benue, and Plateau.
Speaking recently at a forum, he said customers’ apathy towards bill payment is currently affecting the growth of the company and the efficiency of energy supply.
“As at the moment, customers are indebted to the company to the tune of over one hundred and twenty billion naira (N120 billion), company-wide. If you do not pay, how do we get money to invest in our networks?” Mr Mohammed asked in Gombe at the Customers Consultative Forum.
According to a statement from the Head of Corporate Communications for JED, Mr Friday Adakole Elijah, the forum was organised to educate and sensitize customers on the augmented services available in consuming energy from the company’s network. It also delved into the frustration of the company in providing an efficient power supply when consumers evade bill payment.
“When you pay your bill promptly, it will help the company to procure more energy and serve you better”, the Regional Manager for JED, Mr Sa’ad Abubakar, who represented the Managing Director, said.
“Your behaviour for not paying for your consumed energy is colossally impinging on the company’s quest to solidify its networks to the desired level even though JED had expended several billions of naira,” Mr Mohammed continued.
He said when there were natural disasters in the Gombe and Bauchi axis of the company’s operations affecting some installations, the company moved in expeditiously and fixed them.
“Regularly, our distribution transformers are being vandalised, and we are fixing them. We are expected to pay to the market where we obtain this energy on credit. If you don’t pay, how do we pay for this energy that we give to you? I don’t think that any one of us can go to the filling station, take fuel, and not pay for it”, he lamented.
The JED boss, however, lauded the Gombe State Governor, Mr Muhammadu Yahaya, for supporting the company for prompt payment of energy consumed by the State government.
