The Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) has reported that over 17,000 of its customers in Makurdi, the Benue State capital don’t have electricity meters.

Benue State Director of the Jos disco, Mr. Abraham Ochelle disclosed this at the company's maiden consumers’ consultative forum in Makurdi, stating that metering issues were inherited from the defunct PHCN.

The inability of the electricity distribution companies to provide pre-paid meters to electricity consumers has resulted in energy theft and indiscriminate allocation of outrageous estimated bills by some of the
distribution companies.

Ochelle expressed regrets at the lack of pre-paid meters that made it difficult for the company to effectively control and monitor power consumption in homes and businesses in the state. However, he assured that they have procured meters that would be distributed to their customers soon.

"The good news is that the JEDC has taken the initiative of ensuring that all our customers are provided functional meters in order to ensure that the system is properly regulated and monitored and customers only pay for what they consume.

"This is part of the reforms our company has introduced into the system to ensure that our customers are not exploited at any given time," Ochello explained.

However, Makurdi Business Manager of the distribution company, Mr. John Emeruwa. disclosed that the company has initiated moves to install new transformers to augment the 620 in use currently.

Emeruwa pleaded for understanding on the part of consumers, and said that the privatisation of the power sector was yielding positive results with the "steady increase" in power supply in the state.

In his reaction, one of the customers, Mr. Lemon Atero, who lauded the efforts of the officials of the company in ensuring steady power supply in the state, stressed the need for the disco to improve on its billing system in order to check extortion of its customers.

Credits: http://go.engineer-ng.net/forum/topics/17-000-customers-lack-electricity-meters-in-benue