The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) says it is in the best interest of the company to install meters for its customers in the South-East.

The Acting Managing Director of EEDC, Mr Paul Okeke, said this in an address at the Revised Enugu State Business Agenda Stakeholders’ Conference held on Friday in Enugu.

Okeke, who was represented by the company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Emeka Ezeh, however, urged its customers to allow the meters to function and not tamper with them.

He said the company at inception inherited a wide metering gap, hence the challenge being experienced.

He said the company was making frantic efforts towards closing the gap.

He said the ongoing National Mass Metering Programme, an initiative of the Federal Government, would go a long way to ensure that more customers were metered.

“We are currently in phase zero of the metering programme with 92,300 meters, out of which about 40,000 have been installed,’’ Okeke stated.

The EEDC boss also expressed concern over the poor payment attitude of customers, saying, “It is one of the challenges the company is grappling with.

“EEDC is a private entity and customers are expected to pay their bills.

“That is the only way the company can effectively and efficiently function and deliver quality services to its customers,’’ he said..

Okeke recalled the efforts made by the company to improve on the non-functional network it inherited in order to deliver reliable service to its customers.

According to him, the company completed the construction of injection sub-stations like the 7.5MVA Nike Lake Injection Sub-station, the 7.5MVA ABS Injection Sub-station in Awka and Ebeano Tunnel Injection Sub-station from 7.5MVA to 15MVA

“Others are Agu-Awka Injection Sub-station from 7.5MVA to a 15MVA, radiation of more 33KV and 11KV feeders around our network.

“It also installed new distribution sub-stations and relief sub-stations, upgrade of aluminium conductors and other line accessories, among others,’’ he said.

Okeke also listed factors hampering the efficient delivery of this service to customers, including meter bypass, vandalism, energy theft and other illegal activities that go on across the network.

He appealed to customers to work with EEDC to ensure stable and quality service delivery.

Newsmen report that the conference, which later went into closed door session, was organised by the Enugu Coalition of Business and Professional Association.

TodayNG