The Edo State Government on Thursday launched a statewide debulking exercise aimed at transitioning communities from bulk electricity billing to individual customer accounts and, ultimately, individual metering.
The State Commissioner for Power, Paul Usenbo, who disclosed this at a stakeholders’ engagement in Benin, described the initiative as a major step towards improving transparency, accountability and sustainability in electricity billing and consumption across the state.
Usenbo said that many communities are currently supplied and billed on a bulk basis, leaving individual households without separate customer accounts and meters.
He said this makes it difficult to accurately determine individual consumption and establish a direct relationship between customers and the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).
According to him, the debulking exercise will facilitate the enumeration and validation of customers, creation of individual accounts and eventual deployment of meters to eligible consumers.
“Individual metering provides greater transparency in consumption and billing, while giving customers proper visibility and control over their electricity usage.
“The state government has launched a statewide debulking exercise. It is aimed at transitioning communities from bulk electricity billing to individual customer accounts and, ultimately, individual metering,” he added.
The commissioner stated that the success of the initiative requires the cooperation of BEDC, community leaders and residents, local government councils, regulatory agencies and the Edo State Metering Programme.
He said the government would provide coordination, facilitate stakeholder engagement and help resolve issues within its mandate while BEDC would play a critical role in customer enumeration, validation and account creation.
Usenbo also disclosed that the Edo State Metering Programme, in conjunction with its private-sector partners, would provide a pathway for eligible customers and communities to participate in the metering programme.
He urged community leaders and residents to provide accurate information, participate actively in enumeration and raise legitimate concerns to ensure the process is transparent and effective.
He said the communities were central to the success of this initiative, assuring residents that the government would protect their interests and demand transparency, professionalism and accountability from all stakeholders.
Usenbo said the exercise would cover the 18 local government areas, adding that the objective was to create a more transparent and accountable electricity supply system.
He described metering as central to achieving fair and efficient electricity usage, noting that it would enable consumers to monitor their consumption while ensuring that service providers receive appropriate remuneration.
“The reason for this exercise is to create room for accountability, transparency and, most importantly, sustainability.
“Metering is the heart of ensuring that people can get efficient and accountable power usage, while at the same time ensuring that service providers and operators get their right remuneration,” Usenbo stated.
He called on residents to cooperate with relevant agencies and actively participate in the process, expressing confidence that the initiative would deliver meaningful progress towards ending bulk billing and achieving individual metering across Edo communities.
Speaking at the event, Mr Shittu Shaibu, Chairman of the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission, tasked electricity providers with making power available to their customers.
He also urged customers to allow their homes to be metered.
On his part, Henry Onovwaka, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of BEDC Subco, a state-level subsidiary established by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, said the company was willing to support any community that was ready to migrate from the bulk metering system to individual metering.
He also pledged to provide the communities with the necessary prepaid meters.
