The Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has urged the Senate to help it curb power theft by enforcing 23 years jail term for offenders.
Managing Director of BEDC, Funke Osibodu, made this call when the Senate Committee on Privatisation visited the headquar­ters of the company on Tuesday as part of its oversight functions.
She also urged the Senate to assist the company in providing a lasting solution to gas shortage to ensure additional generation of 5000MW in the short term, in­cluding the resolution of currently stranded generation of about 2000MW.
Other assistance sought by Mrs. Osibodu included fast-tracking transmission projects in the network and government’s intervention to meet shortfall in revenue/tariff restructuring.
She said 200,000 of its cus­tomers were currently on esti­mated bill, adding that the BEDC planned to recruit independent ac­counting firms to review those on it (estimated billing) with a view to getting it right.
Mrs. Osibodu disclosed that 60 per cent of electricity consumers do not pay their bills, which she estimated at N1.8 billion monthly.
She listed achievements of the company within seven months of its operation to include improved customer service, introduction of e-bills platform, metering of 11KV feeders, mapping and re­habilitation of all 33KV feeders, among others.
She said the BEDC has part­nered the Elizade University to direct students of the institution to read Power Engineering courses.
Besides, she said the current management has mapped and re­habilitated all 33KV feeders and identified the need for training of its entire technical staff with the establishment of a training school.
“This strategic partnership is similar to international set stan­dards such as the Institute of En­gineering and Technology (IET), Emirates Nuclear Energy Corpo­ration (ENEC) in partnership with Khalifa University,” she stressed.
Mrs. Osibodu, however, listed the challenges facing the com­pany as high level of power theft, limited power supply, transmis­sion bottlenecks and limited ca­pacity to distribute power.
She also highlighted other challenges to include aged and lengthy feeders, traveling through swampy terrain, resistance from communities towards payment of bills.
Responding, Chairman, Senate Committee on Commercialisa­tion and Privatisation, Senator Gbenga Obadara, decried the level of electricity theft among consumers, power vandalism and the reluctance of some communi­ties to pay their electricity bills.
He noted that the Senate was aware that the challenges fac­ing the electricity company were enormous but surmountable.
The Senate Committee Chair­man commended the move by the BEDC to inject the sum of $265 million (N42.5 billion) into its business operation over a period of time.

Benin Disco wants Senate to enforce 23 years jail term for power theft