While the FCTA develop critical facilities like the streetlights, as part of its responsibility, it hands over to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) to collect the electricity bills, provide the power and maintain the installations. Even the FCTA, which provided the facilities pays.
In the event of expiry, vandalism, damages, obsolescence, AEDC would repair or replace the installations. The FCTA should not have any business in the maintenance after the handover. Unfortunately, FCTA still maintains the installations and accessories at heavy cost. In many instances if the AMMC Maintenance Department does not intervene, very sensitive areas in the City would always be in darkness.
Also, the security of the infrastructure are factored in the maintenance. Because, depending on the Nigerian Police exclusively, has proved not to be enough. Very costly components of public electricity transformers, streetlight lumens, and underground armored cables stretching up to kilometers, could be dug and carted away in one night.
The criminals operate with sophisticated weapons, such that confronting them by the security agencies are akin to fighting a full-fledged war. Therefore, streetlight contractors are also saddled with the responsibility of introducing security measures and partnering with the Nigerian Police Force to secure the installations. It means they would have other private security agencies in their payrolls.
The AEDC charges the FCTA the cost of unit consumption in hundreds of millions of Naira, on monthly basis. The FCTA never defaulted during the previous administration, and it pays the largest bill to the AEDC. Failure risks disconnection of power to the FCTA facilities by the AEDC.
However, the AEDC is inefficient and abdicates its responsibilities of maintenance and repairs. If a neighbourhood transformer needs repairs or replacement, and if the residents did not contribute to make repairs or buy new transformer that have been vandalized, the entire neigbouhood would remain in darkness till further notice. This is not peculiar to the AEDC only, but other Discos across the country.
Also, the AEDC complains of inadequate resources to enable carrying out proper maintenance of the power facilities as a result of numerous customers’ default in settling the electricity bill. But that was the major reason the Federal Government abolished the NEPA, by privatizing power distribution. Unfortunately, the Discos are now advancing the same complain.
The major dam that supplies Abuja with water, the Lower Usuman Dam power supply was cut off by the AEDC for more than a month. The services were managed with power from generator. We can imagine the effect on water supply to the City. That crisis is still not yet over. There are similar ongoing challenges associated with payments of electricity bills for the FCT health facilities, which threatens their power supplies.
Meanwhile, for the streetlights, the FCTA never defaulted during the immediate past administration. Yet it doesn’t prevent us from having a monumental disappointment when Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey visited Nigeria for a bilateral discussion on 23rdOctober 2021.
The former FCT Minister Muhammadu Musa Bello, was earlier involved in an official foreign trip to Turkey. He wants Nigeria to reciprocate the wonderful reception they received, at least in the area of making Abuja look beautiful. The quality of Abuja Airport Road with its furniture is of best international standard, but would be worthless if there is no power to light the street in the night.
In order to avoid the embarrassment of power failure along the airport road to the Presidential Villa, the Minister directed that the FCDA and AMMC worked extra mile to ensure that there was no fault in any of the installations. We reached out to the AEDC to ensure that power is provided and to warn on the consequences of power failure, at least within that period. All were made perfect to our admiration, when it was tested and inspected directly by the Minister himself.
Lo and behold! Despite all the painstaking arrangements, when our August visitor arrived, and as soon as the convoy was on the Airport road there was a blackout. If it was any of the FCTA staff that was responsible for that failure, we all know that it would be the end of his service. But, the Disco is not answerable to the FCT Administration. Therefore, the FCTA lacks the power to penalize it for any inefficiency.
Meanwhile, complains of bills default from AEDC won’t be tenable. Because, ab-initio the Government had explained the reason for the privatization, and the Discos accepted, despite knowing the challenges. It is their responsibility to employ all necessary measures to ensure compliance.
Because AEDC cannot be able extract their revenues from the perpetual defaulters, it resorted to a cut throat banding billing system to overcharge the law abiding citizens to pay for the shortfall. A house of 4-bedrooms pays at least 100,000 Naira on Band A, on weekly basis. In other ways, both the Government and the innocent law abiding citizens are heavily taxed to pay for the inefficiencies of the AEDC to obtain the epileptic and fragile services the way it is now.
Because of excessive power billing, people are now avoiding residing in areas of the city that is on Band A. However, being on any Band, A, B or C, must never be a yardstick for citizens to be denied regular power supply. Unfortunately, the regulatory agency looks the other way.
For how long can this inefficiency, poor service delivery and injustice be endured? Surely, there must be a review of the whole policy.
