N400m lost Monthly to Abuja Energy Thieves-ANED Spokesman

A whopping average of some N400m is lost monthly to Energy thieves within the coverage area of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

This was revealed by the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan, at the second edition of the Power Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PCAN) 2022 Annual Workshop held at the Reiz hotel, Abuja last week.

The AEDC covers the federal capital territory, the Niger, Kogi and Nassarawa states.

According to him, electricity distributing companies in Nigeria are facing herculean task of operations, and theft of electricity is one of the key challenges.

Also speaking during the event, with the theme-“Stable Electricity: Exploring a Contract Based Market in Nigeria”, the Managing Director, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Sule Abdulaziz, argued that industry-specific knowledge by the practitioners was key for effective dissemination of right information to the industry stakeholders and the general public.

Represented by the General Manager, System Planning, TCN, Mr Kabiru Adamu, the TCN boss said that company was working hard to ensure steady supply of electricity across the nation.

“The need to deepen industry knowledge cannot be over-emphasised. More of this kind of interactions between the media professionals and the operators should be encouraged, ‘’ he noted.

Also, the Managing Director of Azura Independent Power (IPP), Edu Okeke,  said the 461MW power station was ready to expand its footprints in the coming years, urging the media to begin to raise questions when people throw unverifiable information around.

A representative of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Mr Kassim Burkullu, who is the Chief Technical Officer of the distribution company, said that the company had embarked on 40 quick-win projects to boost power supply in its franchise areas.

According to him, “we have contracted the replacement of 10,000 obsolete and faulty meters within FCT. AEDC has continued to provide seamless channels for timely resolution of customers’ complaints”.