The Ikeja Electricity Company has commended Federal power privatization
programme, saying it has enable them to generate billions naira profit.
The managers of the six Business Units of the electricity company
disclosed this during their separate interactions with a team from the
Post Privatization Department of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)
which the monitoring of power companies in the Lagos axis of the country.
It could be recalled that privatization exercise of the power sector
started in the in the six units of the electricity company.
The Manager of Ikeja Business Unit, Mr. Christopher Lawal, told the BPE
team, led by a Deputy Director in the Bureau, Ignatius Ayewoh, that
because of the benefits of privatization, leakages have been blocked and
the Unit generates N1.1bn monthly compared to the N400,000 in the
pre-privatization period.
He said the unit has installed 1,200 meters customers, adding that
Guinness/Harp is its highest paid customer paying N26-N27million monthly.
Lawal said the Unit has 28 injection stations and supplies its customers
with 80-100 megawatts of electricity but planned to up to 250 megawatts to
meet the required demand of 376 megawatts.
At the Oshodi Business Unit, the Manager, Mr. Sunday Oyewale said the Unit
collects N1.211bn monthly, compared to N602 million in the
pre-privatization period.
He said because of the improvement in services, 134,000 customers were now
on its network compared to 128,000 in the pre-privatization period. The
Manager expressed optimism that the figure will soar after the metering
of customers.
According to him, following privatization, customers have begun to follow
the rules while the older ones are being re-oriented .He added that for a
seamless service delivery to the customers, one marketer was assigned to
900 customers as against the previous arrangement of one marketer to
1,500.
On the complaints of non-provision of meters to customers who purport to
have paid for them, the Manager said none of such customers had been able
to provide documentary evidence that they paid for the meters.
In their separate encounter with the team, Business Managers for Shomolu,
Akowonjo, Ikorodu and Abule-Egba, Messers Taofik Basanya,Lateef
Olaleye,Mohammed Abdullahi and Lawrence Okoye , said the privatization of
the sector has not only improved the working conditions of staff but also
brought about enhanced service delivery and revenue collection.
The Managers, who were staff of the defunct Power Holding Company of
Nigeria (PHCN) before their employment by the IE, said privatization has
brought in massive infrastructural upgrades, congenial work environment,
improved staff welfare and prompt service delivery to customers.
The BPE team leader, Mr. Ignatius Ayewoh commended the strides recorded by
the Business Units since the take-off of power privatization. He urged the
new power companies to fulfil the covenants they signed with the
government.