Benin Disco offers 25% Debt Relief Scheme to Its Customers

As a move make life conducive to customers across it’s franchise states of Delta, Edo, Ondo and Ekiti, the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has offered its customers a debt relief, giving out up to 25% of the total debt owed by customers.  
Announcing the scheme at a media interactive session at its headquarters in Benin City, Managing Director/CEO, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, said the debt rescheduling scheme is a soft landing approach for customers to settle their outstanding debt on electricity consumption, as it offers discounts, ranging from 5- 25 percent down to the payment of 25 percent, with the balance payable over four years or provision of an additional 5%  discount where a customer is ready to pay off the whole debt owed.
She said the scheme ensures that the customer involved is not disconnected as long as he continues to service his bills regularly.
According Mrs. Osibodu, “The debt rescheduling scheme is a soft landing approach for customers to settle their outstanding debts on electricity consumption, as it offers discounts, ranging from 5- 25%, down to the payment of 25%, with the balance payable over four years or provision of an additional 5%  discount where a customer is ready to pay off the whole debt owed instantly.
“The scheme ensures that customers who subscribe are not disconnected and are given accelerated metering process, for those without meters.”
Nevertheless, she also disclosed that the electricity distribution company has taken delivery of about 54,198 meters out of 75,870 meters being expected by the organisation.
“Late 2020, President Mohammandu Buhari initiated the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) with the mandate of ensuring that one million meters are deployed to electricity consumers nationwide, each distribution company was allocated a certain number of meters to be shared among their customers.
“BEDC has taken delivery of 54,198  out of  75,870 meters allocated to us for distribution to customers under the NMMP phase 0’level, whilst BEDC has completed the installation of over 40,000 meters across the four states that we cover as of July ending”, she recalled.
However, the firm decried the high level of vandalism, which it said has hampered the smooth operation of the company
“BEDC has continued to record an increase in the cases of vandalism across its franchise zone. We believe that aside from being an economic crime, it is also an act of sabotage, which is unfair to affected customers and the BEDC. More worrisome is that these miscreants have continued to innovate new ideas beyond human comprehension to perpetuate their criminal acts”, Osibodu declared, while also announcing the introduction of an electronic billing system, that will eradicate the problem being faced by customers on payment of bills.