The Jos Electricity Distribution Plc (JED), on Wednesday, appealed to its customers in Gombe State to pay their electricity bills as a way of reciprocating the improved power supply in the state and its franchise.
Mr Abdu Mohammed, the managing director of JED, made the call while speaking at a customer consultative forum held in Gombe.
Mohammed decried the non-payment of electricity bills by consumers in the state, noting that the attitude of energy users in that regard was posing a big challenge to the company.
Represented by Mr Yerima Baba, the manager of Doma regional office, Mr Mohammed said the customers had a duty to pay for services that they have enjoyed.
According to him, this will enable JED sustain the improvement towards guaranteeing customers’ satisfaction across its franchise.
He stated that in the month of August, the energy bill for the state was N1.3 billion and only about 15.4 per cent of the total bills charged had been paid by customers.
“The electricity business is changing gradually and drastically. It is well known that Jos electricity is giving out the total volume of energy.
“There are feeders we give up to 100 per cent energy; this means that if translated to money, our monthly energy increases as well as the bill.
“But unfortunately, the response from the customers is appalling, so bad that if it continues like that, it would be difficult to sustain the business.
“We are consuming the total energy that is worth over N2 billion yet, the income generated from the two regions in Gombe State as at Tuesday September 17 is less than N200 million.
“We were billed over N1.3 billion for the month of August for the whole of Gombe and Doma,” he said.
Mohammed said there was high level of apathy in terms of payment of electricity bills, lamenting that people were paying just what they like.
“We are calling on customers to reciprocate now that energy is stable and availability is increasing; we are out to serve you please help us to serve you better,” he said.
Mohammed also decried the high rate of energy theft and vandalism which he said was affecting the company.
Also speaking, Mr Saad Abubakar, the manager of Gombe regional office said JED was working to improve on its metering, adding that improvements and customers’ satisfaction remained a critical component of the organisation.
Abubakar commended the customers for turning out to engage with JED on how to improve service delivery while assuring them that all genuine concerns raised would be addressed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that customers during the engagement lauded JED for improved power supply in the state.
