By Ediri Ejoh

The management of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, said it has launched a campaign against vandalism and illegal activities aimed at ensuring adequate power delivery across its business network.

The company lamented that the illegal activities have been on the rise despite numerous safety measures it had put in place. Part of such campaign, he said, included, “an aggressive public safety awareness campaign that involved interactive radio shows across the South-East States, as well as town hall meetings to educate and sensitise the general public on these high risk activities that are capable of terminating lives.
EEDC has also completed plans to take this campaign to churches and schools (both secondary and tertiary institutions).

However, Vanguard gathered that the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) Health and Safety 2016 second quarter performance report, EEDC ranked third in the number of injuries and deaths reported with a total of 14 electrocutions and 5 injuries.

Vanguard findings also revealed that while the company strives for zero tolerance for injury or death within its network, it is important to note that about 95 percent of the accidents were not due to negligence on the company.

It was also gathered that such incident are attributed to the high prevalence of vandalism and unauthorised operation of its electrical installations, illegal connection and disconnection embarked on by the victims.

An operator in the regulatory arm of the sector, noted that the company had committed a lot to safety as well as maintenance of safe environment within its network, as well as procured adequate grounding equipment, operating rods and appropriate personal protective equipment worth millions of Naira for use by its staff, knowing the high risk involved in its day to day operations.

The operator noted that the company recently recruited additional qualified safety officers across its district offices to enhance the monitoring of activities within its network and to further ensure the safety of its workplace and network.

In its response, the company, however, noted that it is geared to raising its values of lives of its staff and customers as well as the consumers.

Reacting to the N13 million fine imposed on EEDC by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for alleged failure to submit inventory data for 2016, the company explained that it submitted the report to NERC, “but because this submission was done electronically (via email) NERC chose to sanction, insisting that the physical report ought to have been sent to the commission. “EEDC considers the fine to be unfair and unjustified, and has therefore petitioned NERC for reconsideration of the fine.

In a similar development, EEDC expressed surprise and debunked the allegation by the regulator that it has recorded over 2,466 unresolved electricity complaints from electricity customers. This they claim couldn’t have been possible with the robust customer service framework deployed by the company to address customer issues.

The company urged members of the public to desist from engaging in illegal and unauthorised activities within its network thereby putting their lives or those of their loved ones at risk.