• As operator disclaims redundancy at Kainji, Jebba plants
Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has grouped its customers into five service bands depicting the quantity and quality of supply they receive while assuring consumers that the newly-introduced Service Reflective Tariff (SRT), is for the growth of the electricity ecosystem in Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Communications, EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, who explained that customers on Band A would receive an average 20 hours per day; Band B, 16 hours; Band C, 12 hours, while Bands D and E will receive a minimum 8 and 4 hours daily.
Eko Disco also allays the fears of customers within the D and E-service bands that the implementation of the service reflective tariff regime is temporarily frozen, and the existing tariff will continue until the DisCo improves the supply hours, as investments are being made to ensure that it is achieved.
Idemudia implored customers to take advantage of the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme to purchase meters to ensure accurate billing of power consumption and stem the tide of estimated billing.
“We understand the economic impact of the pandemic, but there will never be a good time for the implementation of the new tariff,” he noted.
This is just as the management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Plc commenced the implementation of the new tariff structure effective September 1.
The new Service-Based Tariff as ordered by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), is a leap into a regime where customers of BEDC across the franchise states of Delta, Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo, will be migrated to a threshold where there will be continuous improvement in the quality of service delivery that the company offers.
According to the management, the new SBT will allow customers to enjoy a certain minimum of hours of power availability, and also pay for appropriate rates for services rendered, essentially affecting customers that live in areas where BEDC promises to provide electricity for at least 12 hours daily.
In another development, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, operators of the Kainji and Jebba Hydro Power plants, have said the facilities are intact and in full operation.
The company was reacting to a “wicked rumour trending on social media” that Kainji Dam had burst its banks.
Spokesman for Mainstream Energy, Olugbenga Adebola, said in a statement: “This news is totally false. Our dam is in full operations and currently supplying power to the national grid.
“The fact that we are in full and normal operations can easily be confirmed from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), and the National Control Centre (NCC), who are our dispatchers to the national grid.
“The Kainji Hydro Power Plant is currently carrying out water spillage exercises to regulate the water flow along the river Niger. The dam reservoir is currently not at its fullest capacity and will not be in the coming months; therefore bursting its banks does not arise.
“This is an exercise carried out annually to ensure that the reservoir is well secured and that the expected flow of water along the River Niger and its tributaries are controlled.
“Our team of dedicated and experienced engineers is working round the clock to ensure power supply to the nation as well as the safety and integrity of our dam. We would like to assure the public that there is no cause for alarm and the wicked and fake news should be disregarded.”
Source: Guardian