AIYEDATIWA'S AIDE, ALABI TASKS BEDC ON SYNERGY WITH GOVERNMENT TO ENHANCE SERVICE DELIVERY

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AIYEDATIWA’S AIDE, ALABI TASKS BEDC ON SYNERGY WITH GOVERNMENT TO ENHANCE SERVICE DELIVERY

In his determination to fulfill the Governor’s mandate on the provision of stable and accessible electricity supply, the Special Adviser on Energy, Hon. Johnson Alabi has charged the management of BEDC Electricity PLC on optimum performance and excellent service delivery for the benefit of the citizenry.

Hon. Alabi, who gave this charge at the meeting with the State Committee on Electricity Regulatory Transition and Management of BEDC Electricity PLC in Akure, enjoined them to seek ways to lessen the complains of people by making meter processing easier and ensuring consumers are protected against estimated billings and other factors affecting the smooth running of their services in the community.

He reiterated the commitment of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to improving electricity infrastructure and supply, thus leading to a better economy, adding that the state transition committee was fully committed to the vision.

“We are highly concerned about what is happening in the state vis a viz the metering gap; we have also discovered that BEDC is not capable of carrying out adequate maintenance of its facilities because of the underlying issues bothering on indebtedness of consumers to BEDC, insufficient infrastructure, poor maintenance and consumer payments without billing”.

Regarding the issue of energy theft the Special Adviser said, “We believe that if more than half of the electricity being supplied goes into theft, the supplier of electricity would not be able to advance especially in the area of provision of more infrastructure; This is why the state strongly frowns at it and plans to set up a mobile court is underway, to ensure offenders are prosecuted accordingly by Law”.

Hon. Alabi while appreciating BEDC management for honoring the invitation, expressed certainty that the meeting would yield productive outcomes and that the state government was interested in the company increasing it’s revenue but insisted that BEDC and other DisCo’s must be fair to the people in their dealings, most especially because consumers now have knowledge about estimated billings and the Ondo State law prohibits it.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Chairman of the Transition Committee, Engr. Olatunji Ariyomo affirmed that in the electricity sector, the story of transitioning from a centralized engagement to a decentralized environment started in Ondo State and the State plays a vital role in ensuring that it becomes a new national norm.

“Today, we witness another opportunity of a top level engagement between the state government and BEDC Electricity PLC; This committee has resolved within the mandate of the Governor to work with you so as to enable you achieve success for the state and It is my hope that the deliberations will lead to an avenue to douse tension and create a forum to synergize efforts of the state government in the interest of the people”.

The Chairman who expressed dissatisfaction about the lengthy ongoing process regarding the distribution of O’datiwa Meters, disclosed that part of the reasons why the meeting was so germane was because it would serve as a determining factor as to when the Governor would fix the flag-off date. He added that committee was willing to collaborate with their company to make it a huge success.

He used the occassion to remind members that whatever position held by the end of the day would be measured by what people in the community can see. Therefore, he urged them to come up with resolutions that would yield exponential development in the energy sector of Ondo State.

The Managing Director, BEDC Electricity PLC, Mr. Deolu Ijose, appreciated the government team for the forum and emphasized that more collaborative efforts should be devised inorder to resolved issues of constraints.

“BEDC is a service rendering company, we have our limitations and we cannot boast that we will solve overnight all the issues that hv bedeviled our sector but collaboratively with the Federal Government and other key stakeholders, things are improving”.

Mr. Ijose spoke significantly on the need to augment grid power “States that have gotten regulatory functions transfered should intensity efforts to invite investors that are ready to augment grid power that are in short supply; There is alot of space in the environment that the state government can open up for mini grids to cater for unserved areas“.

According to the Media Officer in the Office of the Special Adviser to Governor on Energy, Debbie Funmilayo, the BEDC boss implored members of the committee to remove previous inhibitions regarding his company and assured that all the salient issues discussed were welcome and promised changes, going forward.

The event was attended by other members of the Transition Committee from the Ondo State Electricity Regulatory Bereau, Ondo State Power Company, Office of the Attorney General and top management staff of BEDC Electricity PLC.

The meeting climaxed with the committee having a joint agreement of partnership to ensure more homes start benefitting from the O’datiwa metering intervention scheme.