The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Trans Sahara Consortium on $400million investment to complete the installation of Smart Metering Programme, infrastructure upgrade within the distribution area of the company, and put a stop to energy theft which is a huge revenue drain in the sector.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This was made known in Ibadan on Wednesday by the chairman of IBEDC, Dr. Tunde Ayeni, when he signed a
Present at the brief ceremony were Managing Director, IBEDC, Mr. John Donnachie, Deputy Managing Director, John Ayodele, as well as Otunba Tolani Oladipo, Ola Olayeni and other important stakeholders.
MoU will lead to a an enormous improvement of our billing process as it would become more efficient , the gains from the investment are huge for IBEDC and ultimately our customer. The new metering system is expected to eliminate mistrust and distrust between IBEDC and consumers.
Turaki stated that the investment would at the long run create over 250,000 jobs, though the IBEDC currently have about 3,000 staff. He added that the job creation would be sustainable and “it is in line with the initiative of the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to create two million jobs.”
Ayeni said: “I am happy to partner with Trans Sahara Consortium led by Senator Saminu Turaki, who are bringing in technology in partnership with us to install what we called ‘Smart Metering Programme’ within all our distribution coverage areas.
“The MoU we signed today (yesterday) will attract an investment of 400million USD to cover both the metering plan and also infrastructure upgrade within our distribution area. It is the first phase of the
investment drive that we have signed with Trans Sahara Consortium.
“Beyond signing of this MoU, they will immediately go into action. We have designated an area within our distribution area that will be used as a test sampling so that we can see how the technology works and we can see that it can work within our system.
“The technology has been installed in over 32 countries around the world. It is not a new technology, but it is technology that is just coming into Nigeria. Our hands are open to embrace it so that the mistrust and distrust between Discos and consumers can be a thing of the past. We can monitor your
consumption.
“It is a full system in the sense that it is a self auditing system that takes control out of the hands of human into machine. You will be sure of what you consume and beyond what you consume, the system will shut down. You cannot bypass the meter. It is full proof system; once you touch it, it shut down your system. We will ensure strict monitoring and control to ensure that the system is worth the investment.
“You cannot steal power any longer. Nigerians should wake up to the reality of whether they are ready to pay for what they consume or those who don’t pay will have no electricity. The system of using people, who paid to cover for a larger people who don’t pay is gone. This industry requires huge investments and it is the consumers that fund the value chain.