Posts
by Olufemi Atoyebi
Some unwieldy electricity cables on Yaya Abatan Road,
Ifako, Lagos State... on Wednesday
The
Managing Director, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, Mr.
Fortunato Leynes, has said the plan by the Bureau of Public Enterprises
to remove fixed charges from customers’ bill will have a huge impact on
its revenue, calling instead for a review of the tariff structure before
such a step should be taken.
Leynes, who spoke at an event held to
mark the partnership initiative between IBEDC and University of Ibadan
on how to improve on service delivery, training of human resources and
accommodation of students of the institution by the company for
industrial training in Ibadan on Thursday, said the company had written
to the National Electricity Regulatory Commission on the tariff issue
and would meet with the relevant authorities to iron out areas of
concern.
The Vice Chancellor of UI, Prof. Isaac
Adewole; Deputy Managing Director, IBEDC, Mr. John Darlington and other
stakeholders were present at the event.
Leynes said, “We have sent our position
to the NERC on the plan to remove the fixed charges on the bills of
customers that are not getting electricity for up to 360 hours in a
month. Unfortunately, we are at the tail end of the distribution chain.
“The fixed charge is included in tariff
determination. Just removing it without proper review of the tariff
structure will leave a great impact on our revenue. We do not totally
agree with the concept of fixed charge removal.”
On the partnership between his company
and UI, Leynes said it would provide an avenue for the IBEDC to
test-drive its commitment to providing 24-hour electricity supply to
customers.
He said, “We want to establish a
partnership with the UI on human capital development and talent sourcing
and development. We are looking up to it for some of our recruitments.
The partnership will also represent a pilot project in providing 24-hour
electric power. The partnership will be developed by the technical team
we have chosen to work on this area.
“The result of this partnership will be
determined by the complexity of the situation and assessment of the
technical team from both parties. The institution is upgrading its
electrical network, which is a bit complicated.”
Adewole said it was the first time the
university had partnered with a major player in the nation’s economy,
stressing that the union would result in gains for the parties.
The VC said, “We are looking forward to
24-hour electricity supply. We want to showcase this to other sectors
and show them that it can work. We are going to be testing the integrity
of our network and assist the IBEDC in the training of its human
resources.
“We will also send our students to the
company for industrial training. We will assist the company on quality
assurance and quality delivery. So, we are looking at a comprehensive
model for public-private partnership. The cost of implementation will be
determined by the technical committee, whose members are from the two
parties.”
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