The Managing Director, Jos Electricity Distribution Plc, Engr. Hashim Ibrahim Bakori said post paid customers across the company’s franchise states of Bauchi, Benue, Gombe and Plateau were indebted to the company to the tune of N115 billion.

Bakori who decried the colossal debt said the debt had greatly impinged on the operations of the company stressing that the post paid customers debts were different from the cost of energy losses as a result of energy theft.

Bakori made the disclosure yesterday at the Launch of the Company's 5-years Corporate Strategic Plan to kick start a new goal to be achieved by the company at Elien Event Centre, Rayfield-Jos.

According to him, "If nothing is done to bridge the gap, a lot will go wrong and that is why we are lunching the Corporate Strategic Plan and by the time we are done, people will start seeing improvement on our energy supply across our franchise States".

The Managing Director further explained that, "We have consulted reputable company in the world to come and partner with us in moving the company forward".

Bakori who was optimistic of the company's improved service delivery assured customers that "From today you will see a very new Jos DisCo".

He however lamented that despite the laudable efforts by the new management of JED PLC to achieving qualitative service delivery to customers, vandalism and energy thieves still remain huge challenges to the company.

In his words, "Despite these efforts, the company is currently bedeviled by some man-made challenges. These challenges range from vandalism and theft of our installations, energy theft to customers huge indebtedness to the company".

According to him, In 2021 alone, Vandals and thieves have torched about 200 Distribution Transformers, armored cables, copper earth wires, transformer oil, feeder pillars, copper bars, several spans of aluminum conductors, line insulators etc",

Also speaking, the Chief Commercial Officer of the electricity distribution company, Engr. Mansir Nakande, said to achieve the desired level of reliable power supply, each of the 11 DisCos developed a 5-year Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), which was reviewed and approved by Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), on 29th April 2021.

Nakande said the PIP plan for 5 years is put at N47.23 billion excluding the investment in customers metering.

Earlier, the Chairman, Jos Electricity Distribution Plc, Alhaji Babanginda Inuwa, in his welcome address, said the new vision of the power company would henceforth become the backbone of JEDC's growth.

According to him, "The purpose of the new 5-years strategic plan is to help demonstrate how JED intend to break away from inefficiencies and inadequacies",

Meanwhile, in order to meet customers satisfaction, JED Plc had installed and commissioned not less than 88,500 prepaid meters from January to date at the cost of N5.6 billion naira.

The company had also planned to invest not less than N7.2 Billion on its network Expansion and Reinforcement.

Source: https://www.naijavoicenews.com/customers-owe-jos-disco-n115-billion-bakori/