AEDC’s burden of power supply in Abuja

Historically, the fusion of the ECN and NDA gave birth to the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). NEPA itself gave birth to the extinct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) while the PHCN gave birth to 18 children, 17 of which have been successfully privatised by the President Jonathan administration.The administration took the bold step […]

Historically, the fusion of the ECN and NDA gave birth to the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). NEPA itself gave birth to the extinct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) while the PHCN gave birth to 18 children, 17 of which have been successfully privatised by the President Jonathan administration.
The administration took the bold step in October, 2013.  One year after the assets of the power sector were handed over to the successful bidders and new owners of the successor companies, to what extent have they been able to reflect the noble intention of the Nigerian government, or is the programme heading in the direction of other laudable Nigerian projects?
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) covers the three states of Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory. In terms of ownership structure, the AEDC is owned by Copperbelt Energy Corporation of Zambia and Xerxes Global Investments Limited, who both came together to form KANN. KANN, an acronym for Kogi, Abuja, Nasarawa and Niger, owns 60 per cent of the equity shares of the AEDC while the Federal Government of Nigeria owns 40 per cent equity.  The chairman of the company is Ambassador Shehu Malami, a highly respected Nigerian and former High Commissioner to South Africa.
As the managers of electricity supply, what has the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company done to meet the demands of customers, restore hope to them and justify the decision of government to handover to them the assets of the Abuja DISCO?
Investigation shows that the company has created a call centre that runs for 24 hours. The centre operates from the company’s headquarters located at Wuse Zone 4, Abuja. The essence of this, according to findings, is to enable customers make their complaints anytime they desire to do so. But it is not just enough to register these complaints. Complaints made by customers are also seen by the managing director of the company as well as other executive directors once the fault is registered by the call centre operator. This is a novelty.
In line with its mission to make customers happy by delivering safe and quality power to every home, offices and industries the company has injected additional transformers into the network. Working in concert with other stakeholders in the power sector such as the Niger Delta Power Holding Company of Nigeria under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), the company has upgraded at least nine injection substations. It has also shown considerable presence in other areas of interest.
From the foregoing, it is clear that the introduction of the private sector into electricity distribution is yielding some fruits. However, it is not yet at the speed desired by customers. This is understandable given the number of years of neglect, poor management and under-investment that hitherto characterised the operations of the power sector. It is believed that identified inadequacies would require some time to be ameliorated.
It is important to note that government’s determination to seize the bull by the horn has stopped the downward slid of the sector. What is left now is for the customers to be patient.   
Khalid Alfa, wrote this piece from Kubwa, Abuja, FCT