The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has commended the management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) for putting in place a world class information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, a statement issued by the head of public and media, Ahmed Shekarau, has said.
The statement added that the commendation was made during a post-privatisation monitoring tour of AEDC’s facilities by a 5-member team led by theChairman of the monitoring department of the bureau, Mohammed AuduUba.
Commenting on a presentation made by the Managing Director of the AEDC, the statement further revealed, the delegation commended the company for its efforts so far in the area of ICT.
It said: “I also like to commend your innovation on e-payment solution which makes it easy for your customers who have meters to purchase electricity.”
Disclosing that the BPE team were taken to the billing operations room, the 24-hour Call Centre and the newly commissioned Customer Care Centre of the Company among other installations, it said the delegation acknowledged the challenges that AEDC and other stakeholders in the power sector were facing, especially in terms of unsettled bills amounting to billions of naira.
“We can also see the challenges not only in AEDC but in Nigeria’s power sector as a whole, particularly the debts being owed by MDAs which is affecting further development as it has slowed down infrastructural development.”
Welcoming the delegation, the statement added, it said the Managing Director of the AEDC, Engr. Ernest Mupwaya, listed the progress that the Company made from takeover by the current management in November, 2013.
According to him, the achievements include improvements in revenue generation, replacement of the archaic billing system inherited with a modern efficient one, consolidation of the five disparate vending platforms into one uniform functional system.
Other achievements, he further revealed, include aggressive metering of small and large power users, as well as massive investments in network improvement such procurement and installation of 348 distribution transformers and installation of infrared cameras to detect hotspots on the lines.
He also listed the introduction of world class customer care service and a 24/7 Call Centre, which have helped improve customer relations company-wide as part of the achievements of the company.
