Fashola tasks power investors to strengthen effective service delivery to customers

Babatunde Raji Fashola, minister of Power Works and Housing, has urged investors in the power sector to urgently strengthen the process of effective service delivery to serve electricity customers if they hope to improve their revenue Base.

Fashola will speaking during the 11th Monthy Power Sector & Stakeholder Meeting held in  Ikeja West Transmission Station, Ipaja, in Lagos. Said power sector investors must use this year to tell their staff that without our customers, they don’t have a job, and if you are not in a good mood, don’t pick the telephone

According to him, “Without the customers and the consumers there is no business  and I think that all of us in the public and private sector must understand that. If you don’t have the skin and the patient to serve, leave.

“It is a thankless job but it is no good undertaking to serve,” Fashola said.

The minister further observed that the Ministry of power is aware of investors challenges as efforts are being put in place to address them but added that investors much be willing to carry some share of burden.

He  further reiterated that the federal government is commited to the process of the right stakeholders engagement to ensure incremental power to the citizens.

“I am conscious of the challenges operators in the sector face. My team and i are working as hard as we can to make the environment more responsive to you and as i I have said and will repeat that as pioneers you will carry some burden.

“You will have to sacrifice perhaps more than what you have done but I am optimistic that it will get better, I am optimistic that wr can win together and we can win for the Nigeria people,” the Minister said.

On the issue of liquidity, the minister assured operators in the sector that work has commenced with development, local and international partners to resolve the issue.

He however noted that these partners would have shown shown commitment and and inspiring appetite to play in this market and we are trying to see what we can do together in order to bring the liquidity issues under some control and from there eventually solve it.

“I am happy also to announce that our partners in government are also inspiring understanding of what the challenges are. So it is quick decision making now, collaboration, decisions will be fare but firm and we expect people would  respect the decisions and also processes to reengaged as they come .

“These are matters the regulator NERC will have to deal with, the bulk tradet NBET who is in the house, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Petroleum in terms of gas and all the players how they dove tail into one another .

“I think it is important to set this meeting to set these agenda   of what to expect in the new year. We have listed and identify what the problems are, what we are trying to finalise is what comes first, what follows, what runs concurrently because some of them has dominor effort ie if you solve one problem, you will solve three together.

“We will keep in constant touch with you as they evolve, to hear your side we will use this meeting to continue to share the details of what wr are seeing and to hear what you are experiencing.

“As a public appeal, we need to do what ever is possible to do in our various distribution areas to improve the quality of service to continue to train personnel, to recognise that the customer is king and even if we cannot provide or solve the problem, we own it a duty to explain what we are doing, we own it a duty to fish a few staff not all because we some dedicated staff.

Anthony Yoydeiwei, managing director, Ikeja electric while reading the communique at the end of the stakeholders meeting said Nnpc has promised to repair all demaged pipelines to ensure the release of stranded gas.

He said that plans are already in place to switch on the Ikot Ekpene switch station to help boost the power sector.