According to an official in Ilorin on Tuesday, the Kwara electricity consumers owed the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) more than 50 billion Naira.
Speaking to reporters during a meeting of stakeholders, the company’s Lead Media Relations, Mrs. Busolami Tunwase, revealed this.
She stated that the market operator, a division of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), planned to disconnect its feeders from the national grid as a result of subpar remittances.
Electricity customers within IBEDC’s franchise region were warned by the company’s management in May to prepare for a blackout in June.
The backlog of unpaid electricity bills, according to the statement made at the time, was to blame.
Soon after the stakeholders meeting, Tunwase provided a breakdown of the company’s revenue loss data and revealed that Jebba’s electricity users topped the table with an outstanding of N25.8 billion.
According to her, customers in the Challenge district owed the corporation N7.4 billion, while those in the Baboko district owed N18.9 billion.
It is lamentable, according to Tunwase, that the company’s inability to meet its responsibilities to its market operators is due to the size of Kwara’s debt load.
”But I can assure that when payments are made, service will definitely improve.”
She advised electricity consumers who intend to procure new pre- paid meters to shun third parties so as not to be defrauded.
“IBEDC will soon be flooding the market with new meters,” Tunwase said.
She urged Kwara residents to settle their outstanding electricity bills so as to enable the IBEDC management serve them well.
IBEDC’s Regional Manager, Mr Gabriel Eze, said a huge part of the outstanding debt was from government ministries, departments and agencies, as well as the Nigeria Air Force, Navy and Army
