Ikeja Electric plans to expose energy rogues

The management of Ikeja Electric (IE) is collating the names of energy thieves in its domain for publication to shame the culprits, Mr Felix Ofulue, Head, Corporate Communications, has said.
Ofolue, in a statement issued to newsmen on Monday in Lagos, said the aim was to curtail rising cases of energy theft in the district. He said the names of the culprits would be published in all conventional media platforms in addition to the penalties.

He said that a task force constituted for the operation had started collation of names of those caught in Oshodi, Shomolu, Ogudu, Magodo, Ikorodu, Ikeja and its environs. He said that energy theft had adversely affected the distribution power to genuine consumers in the district. “This is in addition to the arrest and prosecution of persons involved in meter tampering, bypass, shunting, illegal hook-ups and other forms of illegalities affecting the company. From our experience, while some responsible customers rightly demand for improved power supply, a lot are unwilling to pay for what they consumed irrespective of the amount billed.

“To avoid payment, they embark on all forms of practices to utilize electricity without paying a commensurate value. It has, therefore, become compelling for us as a business entity to curtail the menace by employing actions within the legal and regulatory frameworks. Electricity theft is a major factor affecting electricity distribution and the deployment of free meters to all consumers,” he said. Ofolue appealed to consumers to desist from such criminal act, as anyone caught, no matter how highly placed, would not be spared. He warned that ignorance of the act would not be entertained.

The spokesman urged consumers in doubt of connections in their homes to engage qualified electrical contractor to inspect the connections in their premises. He also urged consumers to visit the company’s offices nearest to them for further clarifications.