By Kenneth Onuoha
365Daily – The Enugu Electricity Distribution (EEDC) has re-emphasised that the ongoing installation of metres across its network under the National Mass Metring Programme (NMMP) is free of charge to its customers.
This was made known by the Head Corporate Communications, EEDC, Emeka Ezeh in a reaction to news report published by an online news platform, with the caption, “Pre paid metre for sale in Enugu as EEDC collects N20,000 from customers”.
Ezeh dissociated EEDC from such an act, stating that the information is baseless as the author could not reference any customer who paid EEDC nor referenced any receipt issued for that purpose or even the account the payment was made into.
“As a matter of fact, EEDC has put measures in place to ensure that there is no room for extortion, and that even when it happens, that there are channels through which customers could report such cases.”
To discourage this act, he stated, the company issued press releases, embarked on publicity and customer sensitisation activities which include deployment of billboards across the five South-East states, stressing the fact that metre installation is free, and providing channels through which customers can report any issue bothering on extortion.
The company also engaged the services of local town criers in areas where the metering is ongoing, as well as weekly live interactive radio programmes across the states within EEDC coverage area, all in a bid to inform customers not to allow themselves to be taken advantage of by anyone or group.
“We have deployed several communications (billboard, sensitisation programs, social media posts/engagements, etc.) to underscore that metre and its installation is at no cost to our customers; and that any attempt to extort customers should be reported to EEDC through established Whistle Blower platforms, but customers are reluctant to use these established platforms.
”It is unfortunate that even in situations where investigations are carried out following a lead, the customers are reluctant in providing needed information that will help in fishing out perpetrators of this act, and most times they turn around to deny that they did not pay for metre.
”EEDC wishes to reiterate that metre is free, and that any customer who claims that he/she made payment for it to EEDC should come forward with evidence of such transaction, such as the account the money was paid into and the receipt of payment as there is no payment to EEDC that is not receipted.
“We are currently in the “Phase O” of the NMMP which provides us with about 92,300 metres, and close to 60,000 customers are already metred under this programme, while effort is on to wrap up this phase so we move on to the next stage which is the “Phase 1” of the programme.”
While expressing its commitment to the success of the programme, which is an initiative of the Federal Government designed to close the metring gap in the sector, EEDC solicited the support of its customers in actualising the goal.