BEDC Holds Fire Drill, Safety Awareness For Staff…………………….Meters Over 30, 000 Customers In Two Months

AS part of its effort in maintaining a safe working environment in line with international best safety practices, BEDC Electricity Plc has conducted a one-day ‘Fire Drill and Safety Awareness’ exercise for its staff at the corporate headquarters in Benin City.

MD/CEO, DEOLU IJOSE

The exercise which was oganised by the Health Safety and Environment ( HSE) department of the company, in conjunction with the Edo State Fire Service, witnessed teaching on fire prevention tips, classes of fire and the various fighting equipment with practical demonstration on how they are used.

Speaking after the fire fighting demonstration, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BEDC, Mr. Deolu Ijose reiterated the company’s commitment to the safety of staff and company properties, while Ijose charged every staff of the company to always be safety  conscious and vigilant about happenings around them, both at home and in the workplace.

Ijose further advised the staff to always converge not lackadaisically, but with agility at the muster point anytime the fire alarm was activated.

Also commented during the exercise, the Edo State Fire Service Chief (Engr.) Austine  Eghator who was on ground with his team for the exercise lauded the management of BEDC for its unwavering commitment to issues of safety and standards. According to Ekhator “I can boldly say with excitement that BEDC met all the fire safety standards. Kudos to BEDC management”, he said.

Ekhator who stressed on the need for a periodic fire drill for staff, said the training was necessary in order to  be better prepared and equipped with the right knowledge to manage and fight fire when it occurs. The exercise was attended by the MD/CEO, Mr. Deolu Ijose, all heads of department and staff across all cadres.

IN ANOTHER DEVELOPMENT, Benin Electricity Plc has metered over 30,000 customers within its franchise area in two months.

This disclosure was made by the Head, Metering of BEDC, Engr. Orerome Ofu during a chat with newsmen in his office in Benin City recently.

According to Engr. Ofu, with the introduction of the online application of meters by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission ( NERC ), out of the 48,000 customers that applied so far, over 30,000 customers have  been metered, having gone through the metering stages. By this development, Ofu said it has improved service delivery and streamlined the billing process.

According to Engr. Ofu, the new meter application process became necessary owing to the fact that before now, applying for meters was cumbersome, but with the introduction of the four steps- application, evaluation, payment and metering, it became easier for customers to purchase meters. He commended the MD/CEO of the company, Mr. Deolu Ijose for his steadfastness and foresight in ensuring that the metering gap was closed through the introduction of new map vendors who were bringing in meters to ease the yearnings of customers.

Ofu also used the opportunity to commend the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for giving BEDC an avenue through which customers can process meters and monitor the metering process.

Speaking on the complaints of estimated bills by customers, the Head, Metering said as part of the company’s meter deployment exercise, “our team of meter engineers under the directive of Mr. Ijose, have started fast tracking the metering  of customers who  paid for meters and  which upon completion of the metering exercise, would have put an end to estimated billing.

On the payment procedure for meters, Engr. Ofu said the single phase meters are sold for N88, 123.30, while the three phase goes for N154, 623.81, but warned that money should not be paid directly to any staff or installer, but through BEDC MAP application system.

The Head of Metering advised customers desirous to buy meters to log into the company’s website www.beninelectric.com or proceed to the company’s customer service department in the various regions to indicate their interest.

Engr. Ofu frowned at the issue of meter bypass and tampering, saying the company condemns the act in its entirety and that as a matter of the company’s policy, anyone caught will be prosecuted.