Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Jos Electricity Distribution (JED) Plc has sustained efforts with its mass metering project with over 200,000 customers to be metered in its franchise states of Bauchi, Gombe, Benue and Plateau.
Speaking, the distribution company’s Managing Director, Mr Hashim Ibrahim Bakori, said that JED scored high on its performance as it has been able to meter over 88,500 customers in it the franchise states in a project tagged phase zero earlier in the year.
He said the 88,500 meters installed by Jos DisCo was not part of the initial 20,000 meters rolled out for customers previously.
He said that the 200,000 meters, when installed, will amount to 308,500 meters as total meters distributed to consumers in it the three franchise states in the outgoing year.
“The 200,000 customers will come under the national mass metering programme of the federal government,” the energy firm disclosed.
Represented by the Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Mansir Makande at a stakeholders’ parley organised by the Association of Electricity Distributors (ANED), sponsored by the Mac Arthur Foundation, Mr Bakori said the aim for the meter campaign was to put an end to estimated billing.
“It is our desire to meter all our customers and hopefully we will meter all our customers. we are already working towards that,” he said.
He, however, called on customers to help JED in the fight against vandalism and energy theft by taking ownership of electricity installations in their domains.
On his part, the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of the Association of Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr Sunday Oduntan, pleaded with customers to report anybody demanding the gratification of payment for meter in any guise stressing that meters are free.
Mr Oduntan explained that reporting such an act would help to eliminate corruption especially the bad eggs in the system who are exploiting customers and also boost investments into the country.
