The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) will expand its infrastructure and network for effective service delivery, said its managing director, Kingsley Achife, on Saturday.

He gave the assurance at a stakeholders’ engagement meeting held in Ibafo, Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun.

Mr Achife, represented by the company’s lead media officer, Busolami Tunwase, said IBEDC would continue to ensure effective service delivery to the people despite its customers’ huge debt.

”We will not relent in satisfying our customers in spite of the debt in the state,” he said.

The managing director said energy theft and debt remained the major issues confronting the electricity companies in the country.

He said IBEDC was unhappy with such an attitude, adding that anyone involved in the dastardly act would be punished under the law.

Mr Achife appealed to customers to assist the company in paying their debt.

“In spite of over N64 billion debt in Ogun, IBEDC has assured customers of improved service. We now wear a new garment and will not stop infrastructure and network expansion.

“Some customers do this by bypassing their metres; some don’t have metres at all. They just connect to their houses directly. They do these mostly at night. This is economic sabotage,” Mr Achife said.

The IBEDC managing director said the company budgeted N18 billion for infrastructure and network expansion, and that was what the company wanted to do.

He said energy theft had been a major challenge to the company’s growth, and the total debt in Ogun was N74 billion, with Ibafo alone owing over N5 billion.

(NAN)