-By Yange Ikyaa
The Ibadan Electric Distribution Company (IBEDC) says it is committed to restoring power to Ilesha as soon as possible. The company said in a statement signed by its Head of Branding and Corporate Communications, Mrs Angela Olanrewaju, on Saturday.
It said the decision was sequel to the intervention meeting hosted by the Executive Governor of Osun State, Alhaji Gboyega Adetola, and the Oba’s Committee constituted by Ijesaland to facilitate the restoration of power.
“The Board and Management of IBEDC as a customer centric organization have committed to restoring power to Ilesha as soon as possible,” the statement read in part.
On his part, the Chief Operating Officer of IBEDC, Mr John Ayodele, said that in response to the appeal from the governor and the people of Ilesha, the company would commence initial preparations required to restore service from next week.
Ayodele said IBEDC has committed to send an advance party comprising of its technical and administrative staff to critically assess and see what could be salvaged for gradual restoration of power.
He said the administrative staff would also commence the cleanup and tidying of the office facilities for resumption.
Ayodele said along with this was the replacement of some staff in Ilesha and recruitment of qualified indigenes of Ilesha to ensure better service to customers and engender confidence from the community.
“In resolving one of the major issues that led to the crisis, which is metering and estimated billing.
“IBEDC will within the next few weeks clear the backlog of meters as all customers that paid under the previous metering schemes that show evidence of payment will be metered.
“Also unmetered customers that are willing to pay can take advantage of the new metering scheme, Meter Asset Provider (MAP), introduced by NERC to bridge the metering gap , as we have contracted seven vendors under this scheme.
“This will greatly reduce estimated billing which has been a thorny issue.
“IBEDC will also strengthen its community engagements platform and explore strong communication/ feedback mechanisms to encourage customers to report grievances and issues in an amicable way.
“Finally, IBEDC hereby requests that the committee will also commence a strong advocacy drive within the community to ensure a safe, cordial and conducive working environment for our staff,” he added.”
He also asked the Ilesha community to support the gesture through the immediate payment of their huge outstanding as this will greatly facilitate the rehabilitation works and show goodwill from the customers.