Theft, vandals, fingered for low energy in Nigeria’s Plateau electricity

Nigeria

Electricity theft and vandalism of electrical installations has remain a challenge for effective and efficient power supply in Nigeria, resulting to huge consequences in loss of revenue and danger to life, says electricity Managers who gathered in Nigeria’s North-central Plateau State, Thursday, to unveil a new vision to move the sector forward.

The big man for the Power company in-charge of four franchise States of Gombe, Bauchi, Benue and Plateau, Engr. Hashim Bakori said after 16 months of assuming office as Managing Director of Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED), theft, vandalism and apathy to bill payment was identified as problems with urgent solutions if the company must make progress.

Set to make a difference, Bakori and his team unveiled a 5-years Strategic Plan with new mission and vision, adding that with the strategy well implemented, their teaming customers will experience improved energy supply that will be the envy of all.

According to him: “In 2021 alone, Vandals and thieves have torched about 200 Distribution Transformers armored cables, copper earth wires, Transformer oil, feeder pillar copper bars, several spans of aluminum conductors, line insulators and many others”, he said.

Not deterred by the challenges, he disclosed that a total of  N7.2 billion will be injected into the company to ameliorate these challenges and set new goal for the company.

“It is our hope that at the end of these investments, power supply within our franchise States will become so qualitatively reliable to the envy of all”, Bakori said.

Also speaking at the new plan for JED service delivery, the Chief Commercial Officer, 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, JED PLC, Alhaji Babanginda Inuwa, in his welcome address, said the new vision of the power company will become the backbone of JED’s growth moving forward.

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”, Inuwa said.

Sky News Africa’s correspondent reports that the deliberate stealing of electricity is widespread in Nigeria and happens through various schemes, including direct connection to the overhead low tension distribution cables, bypassing the meter so that only a small load is connected to it while the rest are connected directly to the supply behind the meter or tampering with the meter to make its reading inaccurate.

The deliberate stealing of electricity is more often than not aided and abetted by experienced (current or past) technicians who understand how the systems work, our correspondent said.

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