One hundred customers of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), who complained about estimated billings have received free meters from the company.
The customers were drawn from the franchise states of the company in Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti.
The BEDC had on Thursday flagged off customers service week with a view to resolving all customers’ complaints in the franchise states.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, MD/CEO, of BEDC, Dr Henry Ajagbawa, said during the flag-off of the event that the customer service week was a global event geared towards recognising the importance of customers in any trade activity.
Ajagbawa, who was represented by the company’s Head, Human Capital Management, Dr Obinna Obi, said that the event was also geared toward knowing the demands of customers for better service delivery.
“We appreciate your feedback, they are actually one of the few things we discuss over there at the headquarters.
“We recognise the good value you have given to us to ensure that we respond back by giving you the desirable quality service at all times,” he said.
In her welcome address, Mrs Imoghome Umakhihe, Head of the Customer Service Department, said the company had commenced the distribution of meters under the Meter Asset Provider(MAP)
Umakhihe noted that under MAP, customers would have to visit the BEDC website to register and pay after which they would be metered within 10 days.
“Before now, we were in the National Mass Metering Programme NMMP of the federal government. We have finished phase zero and we are in the process of starting phase one.
“However, customers who can not wait for phase one of NMMP are encouraged to key into MAP which is currently on.
“Today, we are celebrating the services of our staff and appreciating our customers because they are key to everything we do here
“We would be taking complaints from our customers today and resolving them on the spot.
“Customers with estimated billing issues would be resolved and the first 20 to visit our customer’s service centre in our franchise states would get free meters, and we are fast-tracking the installation of those free meters today.
According to her, so far, today we have received and treated complaints from 200 customers.
Dr Oladeide Bankole, a customer, commended BEDC for the initiative, noting that the development would encourage efficiency in the system
Miss Cynthia Agimon, another customer said she had been suffering estimated billing issues where she had to pay between N40,000 to N50,000 every month.
According to her, am so lucky and happy to get a free meter today. They ask me to wait until they will install the meter for me today.