Jos DisCo Laments Electricity Theft

The Jos Electricity Distribution (JED) Plc has raised the alarm over the growing incidence of electricity theft in Plateau State.

It revealed that about 45 per cent of energy supplied to the state is lost to illegal activities.

The company said the development posed a serious threat to sustainable power supply in the state.

JED’s state chief operating officer (COO) Engr. Hamisu Wakili Jigawa, disclosed this yesterday during a quarterly customer consultative forum in Jos.

He said the forum, held in line with regulatory requirements, provided the customers with an opportunity to engage directly with the company, present unresolved complaints, and obtain prompt resolutions.

According to him, the engagement forms part of JED’s commitment to strengthening customer relations and improving service delivery.

“This consultative forum is a regulatory requirement. Beyond that, it gives customers who may not have access to our radio programmes or other communication channels the opportunity to bring forward their complaints.

“Some of these complaints may have been reported several times without resolution.”

“ At this forum, our technical, commercial and customer service teams are all present, making it possible to resolve such issues immediately or shortly after the meeting,” he said.

Jigawa described electricity theft as one of the company’s biggest challenges, warning that the high level of energy losses could undermine efforts to improve electricity supply across the state.

“The issue of energy theft has become a serious challenge for us as a company. In Plateau alone, about 45 per cent of our energy is lost to theft. No business can survive with such a high level of losses,” he said.

To tackle the problem, he said JED had introduced a whistleblower initiative called Power-Watch, designed to encourage members of the public to report electricity theft, meter bypass, vandalism, and other illegal activities affecting the company’s operations.

“Power-Watch is a ‘see something, say something’ initiative. We are involving the community in the fight against energy theft. “

According to him, anyone who reports a genuine case that leads to the discovery of electricity theft or illegal tampering with our installations will be rewarded,” he explained.

He added that the whistleblower policy also covers cases of staff misconduct, urging customers to report unethical behaviour through the company’s dedicated telephone lines, email addresses and social media platforms.

Jigawa further disclosed that JED was engaging relevant authorities to strengthen the prosecution of electricity offenders, stressing that effective enforcement is critical to sustaining improved electricity supply.

“If we cannot recover payment for the energy supplied, there is no way the electricity market will continue to provide us with power that is not being paid for. Ultimately, energy allocation to Plateau may be reduced, and the 20 to 24 hours of electricity supply currently enjoyed in many parts of the state could be affected,” he warned.

Despite the challenge, he said Plateau remained one of the best-performing states in terms of electricity supply.

According to him, about 70 per cent of customers in Jos currently enjoy more than 20 hours of electricity daily, adding that the company plans to upgrade more feeders to Band A to enable more communities to benefit from improved supply.

“We are committed to improving the electricity supply. “As long as customers continue to pay their bills, we will continue to invest in network upgrades so that more communities can enjoy over 20 hours of electricity every day,” he said.

Also speaking, the Chief Commercial Officer of JED, Dr Abubakar Ibrahim, announced that the company would distribute 109,000 free electricity meters to customers across Plateau, Bauchi, Benue and Gombe states under the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP).

He explained that the meters would be shared among customers in the company’s four franchise states, not just Plateau.

According to him, JED has already distributed over 20,000 free meters under another Federal Government-backed metering initiative. At the same time, customers can also obtain meters through the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme.

Ibrahim explained that, unlike the MAP scheme, under which customers initially pay for meters and are later refunded through energy credits approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), meters distributed under DISREP and other government-backed programmes are completely free.

“Virtually all the metering schemes are free except the MAP scheme. Customers should not pay anyone for meters under the DISREP or any other free metering programme.

Anyone demanding payment should be reported to the nearest JED office or the police,” he said.

He said Band A customers were being prioritised under the DISREP metering programme because they receive a minimum of 20 hours of electricity supply daily and pay cost-reflective tariffs without government subsidy.

Responding to complaints over debt notifications appearing on newly installed prepaid meters, Ibrahim explained that outstanding debts from the old post-paid billing system were automatically transferred to the new meters.

He said the company had introduced flexible repayment arrangements that allow indebted customers to settle outstanding bills in instalments through electricity vending.

According to him, customers owing less than ₦1 million can repay as little as ₦2,000 monthly, while those with higher debts are placed on structured repayment plans.

Ibrahim said the customer consultative forum was organised to enable consumers to lodge complaints, make suggestions and interact directly with the company’s management on ways to improve electricity service delivery.

Representatives of communities who spoke at the forum commended JED for organising the consultation.

They added that it is an avenue to hear from them about the problems with electricity distribution in their communities and to hear the challenges JED is facing.