- Customers owe Ikeja Electric ₦70.9 billion
- MDAs account for the bulk of the electricity debt
- Senate Committee visits Ikeja Electric
Ikeja Electric has explained the challenges it faces in providing reliable electricity services to its customers during a visit of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation to its office. The Chief Marketing Officer, Ikeja Electric Ugo Obi-Chukwu, noted with dismay the outstanding debt owed the utility by its customers. Obi-Chukwu stated that the company is owed ₦70.97 billion in electricity debt.
He added that the bulk of the debt is owed by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the government. He added that the company is currently implementing various strategies for debt recovery. According to Obi-Chukwu, Ikeja Electric has so far metered at least 400,000 customers since 2013. However, he said other challenges facing the company included energy theft, difficulty accessing foreign exchange to procure equipment, volatility of the naira and disruptions from the transmission network.
Speaking at the visit, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Theodore Orji, noted the complaint of Ikeja Electric and assured the management that the Senate would look into ways the issue of MDA debts can be resolved.