IBEDC bemoans N1.6bn monthly loss to estimated billing

The management of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has lamented that the company is losing about N1.6 billion monthly to capping of estimated billing and other issues bordering on metering, describing it as a disservice to the energy industry.

In a statement signed by John Ayodele, chief operating officer, IBEDC, the country’s largest electricity distribution franchise, some of the reasons the company is losing money are attributable to the activities of the consumers, which include bypassing their meters, and high level of poverty, which made it difficult for them to pay their bills.

Ayodele explained that the company had been willing to meter all its customers, adding that it aligned with the federal government on the mass meter initiative, as capping was not good for any business to thrive.

He further noted  that contrary to the insinuations that estimated billing and capping were benefiting the distribution companies (DisCos), it was the other way round, adding that the electricity company would have folded up if not that it remained committed to rendering public services.

“Ninety percent of those complaining of estimated billing in the real sense of it do not want meters. They are comfortable with the N3,000 billing we are giving them monthly because many are spending more than that amount,” he noted.