THE Jos Electricity Distribution (JED) Company has raised an alarm over incessant attack of its staff by some consumers and vandalisation of its properties, threatening that the company will henceforth disconnect the entire community where its men are assaulted.
In recent time some residents of Jos have been rejecting the installation of new meters in their premises alleging that the meters are not properly calibrated and therefore run too fast thus attracting high billing. In some place staff of JED were physical assaulted and chased away.
Addressing newsmen over the development in Jos, the Managing Director Jos Electricity Distribution 9, Alhaji Mohammed Modibo who said the staff of the company who were in federal low cost area of Jos on Monday to install the new meters were attacked wondered why people are resisting the meters that have been tested and certified by the regulating body.
According to him, in some places the staff were not just assaulted, equipments of the establishment were deliberately vandalized adding that the act of vandalism is hindering the efforts of the company towards providing efficient service to customers.
“To overcome the problems of power supply in Nigeria all hand must be on deck. We have been accused of extorting customers, to guide against this, we came up with prepaid meters that have been well calibrated and tested by authority, yet people are resisting the meters. There are several cases of assaults and vandalisation of our equipment.
“We have severally dialogue with these communities, yet they refused to change. In Federal Low cost yesterday our staff who were out to install the new meters were harassed, assaulted and chased out of the community” he said.
Alhaji Modibo who said the company has the backing of government and security agencies to carry out its work threatened that JED would disconnect electricity supply to any community which rejected the installation of the new meters adding that act of sabotage in any form will no longer be tolerated.