The Edo State Government has launched a statewide debulking exercise aimed at transitioning communities from bulk electricity billing to individual customer accounts and, ultimately, individual metering. This initiative is a major step towards improving transparency, accountability, and sustainability in electricity billing and consumption across the state. The State Commissioner for Power, Paul Usenbo, disclosed this at a stakeholders' engagement in Benin.
Currently, many communities in Edo State are supplied and billed on a bulk basis, leaving individual households without separate customer accounts and meters. This makes it difficult to accurately determine individual consumption and establish a direct relationship between customers and the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC). The debulking exercise will facilitate the enumeration and validation of customers, creation of individual accounts, and eventual deployment of meters to eligible consumers.
According to Commissioner Usenbo, 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 to transition communities from bulk electricity billing to individual customer accounts and, ultimately, individual metering. 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.
The Edo State Government will provide coordination, facilitate stakeholder engagement, and help resolve issues within its mandate, while BEDC will play a critical role in customer enumeration, validation, and account creation. The Edo State Metering Programme, in conjunction with its private-sector partners, will provide a pathway for eligible customers and communities to participate in the metering programme. Community leaders and residents are urged to provide accurate information and participate actively in enumeration.
The debulking exercise will cover the 18 local government areas in Edo State, with the objective of creating a more transparent and accountable electricity supply system. Commissioner Usenbo 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 initiative aims to create room for accountability, transparency, and sustainability in electricity billing and consumption. 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. Residents are called upon to cooperate with relevant agencies and actively participate in the process.
Other stakeholders, including the Chairman of the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission, Mr. Shittu Shaibu, and the Acting Chief Executive Officer of BEDC Subco, Henry Onovwaka, have expressed support for the initiative. They tasked electricity providers with making power available to their customers and urged customers to allow their homes to be metered. BEDC Subco pledged to provide communities with the necessary prepaid meters.
Key points
- The Edo State Government has launched a debulking exercise to transition communities from bulk electricity billing to individual customer accounts and metering.
- The initiative aims to improve transparency, accountability, and sustainability in electricity billing and consumption across the state.
- 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.
