The management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Plc, on Thursday, said it spent N8.5billion monthly to purchase power from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) Plc.
Funke Osibodu, the managing director/chief executive officer of the electricity distribution company made the disclosure at a media parley with newsmen in Benin City.
Osibodu said the N8.5 billion was exclusive of payment of monthly salaries, maintenance of facilities, building of infrastructures among others.
She also disclosed that the company has installed free 40,000 prepaid meters out of the 54,198 metres so far received of the 75,870 meters allocated to it.
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While lamenting customers’ high indebtedness to the company, she added that the customers debt profile was huge.
The BEDC Electricity boss, who said 50 percent of customers are indebted to the company, however, appealed to customers to pay bills regularly to be able to serve them adequately.
Osibodu, who expressed worry over the increase in cases of vandalism to electricity infrastructures across its four franchise states, opined that the vandals uses innovating new ideas beyond human comprehension to perpetuate criminal acts.
She listed some of the facilities vandalized to include 14 spans of electricity conductors in Ilu-titun, 20 spans of electricity conductors between Ode-Aye and Okitipupa, Ondo state.
Others are 2.5MVA, 33/11KV injection substation at Igarra near Auchi, Edo State where RUM, upriser cables, incomer cables were removed by vandals.
She said 10 cases of the arrested suspects are pending at different courts in the franchise states while two of the suspects have been convicted.
She also disclosed that between 2019 and 2021, BEDC Electricity company connected a total number of 108 transformers back to the national grid in Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states.
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