Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc said on Wednesday, that the COVID-19 pandemic had slowed down the deployment of meters to customers.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, EKEDC, Mr Adeoye Fadeyibi, stated this during a fact-finding visit by a joint committee on energy and mineral resources and information and strategy from the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Folajimi Lai-Mohammed, said the purpose of the visit was to express the concerns of Lagos residents about electricity supply, estimated billing and metering.
In his reaction, the EKEDC boss said the power firm always ensured that the energy received from the national grid was distributed effectively.
He said, “Eko Disco continues to take about 12-15 per cent of the national grid allocation. In the months before COVID-19, we were averaging between 270 megawatts and 300MW. Now, we take 90 per cent to 100 per cent of that amount of energy.
“Our metering continues; we have seen a ramp-up in terms of our metering. Of course, it has slowed done because of the COVID-19 pandemic but our idea is that post-COVID-19, there needs to be a significant ramp-up in metering.”
Fadeyibi said the EKEDC had set up a COVID-19 task force when the virus broke out, adding, “We started to figure out what we needed to do in terms of business continuity plan.
“Our focus was on the ability to take energy, distribute all the energy that we get and respond to faults, with safety being a top priority. We succeeded, at least to some extent, in realigning our network whereby the energy can go to people in their homes. We have had challenges with the rains.”
He said the firm had improved its customer engagement “but the complaints are massive”.
“We ask that people should exercise some patience; they should make sure they communicate without getting frustrated right away. We understand the frustration of people whenever we cannot respond as fast as they want. We are going to try and overcome the challenges that we have,” Fadeyibi added.
