At a stakeholders’ meeting put together recently by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Power in the South South Zone with electricity customers, Edo Civil Society Organizations were on ground to make their positions on the activities and services of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) known to the Committee.
In its submission, EDOCSO insisted that the license of BEDC which expires in November, this year must not be renewed because their performance in the last five years fell below average.
EDOCSO said the scorecard of BEDC revealed a total failure of the Funke Osibudu-led management over the years of taking over from defunct PHCN under the Federal Government privatization agenda, noting that Edo people have been subjected to all manner of sufferings from the operations and activities of BEDC in service delivery.
“The people cannot take it any longer going by the series of petitions received by EDOCSO within the period under review”, they said.
BECD inadequacies, according to EDOSCO include the following:
- BEDC managed by Vigeo Power Limited is a lawless company and does not respect decisions of NERC and court orders. Only recently a court slammed it with a N10m compensation to a customer whom the NERC forum had already decided its case but BEDC went ahead to arrest him with the police while the matter subsisted in court.
- It uses police to harass customers in debt recovery.
- It uses military personnel attached to some white foreigners working with it to abuse the human rights of citizens who are their customers over little issues as protests by communities when they get disconnected without due process and for debt recovery.
- BEDC management is fond of accusing a whole community of owing and putting them in darkness until the amount alleged to be owed is fully paid, whereas it is a case of few individuals owing because prepaid meter owners cannot be said to be owing rather it is the other way around.
- Refusal to supply meters so as to further exploit citizens with outrageous estimated billing.
- BEDC will never replace a faulty transformer or bad poles. Communities and individuals are forced to buy these items themselves and BEDC compelling the purchasers to say it is a donation to BEDC if they want them connected.
- Customer service is very poor and discouraging.
- Poor remunerations for the inadequate staff.
- High handedness of Funke Osibudu on mild issues.
- Operation of special lines with up to 24 hours supply to some customers while a majority of their customers barely enjoy three hours of constant supply daily.
- Rejection of loads from transmission thereby leading to total blackouts in communities.
Edo Civil Society Organizations further warned that they shall be mobilizing the people to launch a massive and protracted protests, against the renewal of BEDC license both in Edo state and in Abuja.
“President Buhari’s attention must be drawn to the activities of BEDC that has given the government a poor performance in the power sector and President Buhari must not renew their operational license as they lack the financial and technical know-how in the business of power distribution,” they added.
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