The Kebbi Development Forum, on Monday, commenced sensitisation of electricity consumers to the effective use of power and the need to guard against vandalism of electrical installations.

The sensitisation and town hall meeting, organised in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency and Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, was held at the Unity Conference Hall, Zuru.

The event drew participants from all spheres of life, including traditional institutions, members of the Nigeria Automobile Technicians Association, National Association of Welders, Youth and Women organisations, among others.

Different issues concerning power supply, such as low voltage, epileptic power supply, prepaid metres, estimated billing and vandalism, among others, were deliberated.

In his submission, the chairman of KDF, Usman Abubakar, said the forum is a non-profit and non-partisan organisation committed to providing leadership in harnessing and channelling the state’s vast human and natural resources toward sustainable development.

He said the essence of the programme was to listen to customer complaints, raise public awareness of the efficient and productive use of electricity for economic growth and development, and strengthen understanding of consumers’ rights and responsibilities.

This, according to him, will facilitate access to quality service, complaint redress mechanisms, timely payment of bills, and community protection of transformers, feeders, and infrastructure.

He stressed the need for KEDCO to provide a structured platform for consumer and other stakeholder engagement to build trust and improve service delivery.

The chairman identified a lack of awareness among electricity consumers as a major obstacle to understanding their rights and privileges.

Mr Abubakar observed that the community has a critical role to play in ensuring a steady supply by protecting electrical installations, paying their electricity bills on time, and reporting any faults to the company for immediate action.

“Electricity should not be seen merely as a source of light, but as a strategic enabler of economic growth. It drives agriculture through irrigation, processing, and storage, supports small-scale enterprises and underpins healthcare, water supply, education and security. Our goal is to promote a culture of responsible electricity use and active community participation,” he stated.

He used the medium to inform the public that over the years, successive civilian administrations in Kebbi had demonstrated commendable commitment to improving electricity supply.

The chairman said with satisfaction that the present administration had recently released N650 million to KEDCO for the procurement of a 15MVA transformer and had pledged N150 million in monthly support to improve electricity access for vulnerable communities.

Sani Muhammad-Makinu, regional manager of KEDCO Kebbi, said the company was only a distributor of power received from the generating company.

He said every month, the generation company supplies power to distribution companies across Nigeria, saying, “Ours is just to distribute the light to customers and at the end of the month, we pay for the power we consumed.”

Abdussalam Muhammad, chairman of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, Birnin Kebbi Forum, recalled that the forum was established in 2023 to receive customer complaints.

He advised customers that whenever they have any complaints, they should not hesitate to report to KEDCO for immediate action.

“However, when the company fails to address it, write to us within 24 hours, and we will summon them, and the problem will be resolved,” stated Mr Muhammad. “But make sure that you are paying your electricity bills regularly.”

(NAN)