THE Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, KAEDCO, has asked customers to pay their light bills despite a protracted blackout in the North.
This newspaper reports that there has been power outage in Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, and Jigawa following the vandalism of towers along the 330KV Shiroro-Kaduna Lines and also the tripping on the Ugwuaji-Makurdi 330KV Line 2.
The damage has left the affected states in darkness for days.
But in a statement issued by the company’s head of corporate communications, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, the company asked the customers to pay for service provided before the power outage.
While acknowledging the difficulty the residents of the affected states have been grappling with, the statement said, “We recognise that it has been a difficult past few days due to the unanticipated outage. We recall that the outage started on October 20th. We again apologise.
“However, customers should please note that they are required to pay for electricity consumed from 1st October to 19th October. This means that customers will be billed for the days electricity was supplied this month.
“The new bills, which will be out in November, will therefore reflect the total electricity consumed from the beginning of the month up to the point the outage began.
“We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our customer care team at your service centre or area office.
Meanwhile, the company has assured that barring any unforeseen circumstances, the ongoing repairs on the damaged transmission line by the Transmission Company of Nigeria will be completed on Saturday.
“With the pace of repair on the faulty 330kV line by the TCN team, we are confident that barring any unforeseen circumstances, the work shall be completed today and supply hopefully restored to Kaduna State.
“We deeply empathise with you and promise immediate restoration of supply once we receive power from TCN. Kindly bear with us,” he said.
