THE Jos Electricity Distribution, JED, Company has lamented the persistent vandalisation of its installed transformers and the activities of consumers who bypass meters to evade charges for the energies they consume. The Disco described the consumers as energy thieves.

Mohamed Modibo, managing director of the company, said security agencies have been detailed to arrest and prosecute these criminals appropriately. He said the activities of the consumers impede the progress of the company and the general progress of the society. “When you steal electricity, the value chain suffers because our company also buys the energy it distributes.”

He appealed to Nigerians to be patients with the federal government, noting that electricity has been neglected for a long time in the country, “so it’s difficult to see the gains of the government’s effort immediately.”

Modibo also debunked the stories trending in the social media space that Jos Disco has increased tariff, describing it as untrue, incorrect and baseless, adding that tariff will not be increased without first constructively engaging with customers.

“The company’s retail tariff remains within the same bracket as other distribution companies in the country and the current tariff regime has not changed since its approval by NERC after extensive customer consultation in December 2015,” he said.

The Disco boss asserted that if actual economic indices such as inflation and foreign exchange were to apply to tariff, consumers are likely to witness almost 100 percent increase in the cost of electricity.

He maintained that despite these challenges and inability to recover cost coupled with negative cash flows, the companies were still investing to improve the network and quality of supply to customers.

Modibo also dismissed the rumours that customers in Plateau State pay higher tariff than other states that Jos Disco distributes energy to. He explained that the company maintains uniform tariffs for its customers in all its franchise states of Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, and Plateau, stressing that, “the allegation that we are charging different tariff and that Plateau tariffs are higher than what is obtainable in our other franchise states is not true.”

He advised against peddling of unfounded rumours, which he said was capable of creating civil unrest, and called on the customers to work together with the company to protect their assets and contribute to the efforts of government in nation building.

– Feb.  23, 2018 @ 14:21 GMT |