By Dan-Muhammadu Ismaila
One of the major challenges bedeviling power sector (not excluding KEDCO) over the years has been identified as lack of investment and infrastructural development, which is partly due to the cost implication in embarking on major project that could stimulate the sector by successive government, poor commitment on the part of the key players in the sector was also a major setback.
However, when private investors took over distribution arm of the sector, they met a dilapidated network in a devastating stage of decay, huge ATC & C losses and obsolete equipment and installations that could hardly distribute quality and efficient electricity to customers. There was a sigh of relief by Nigerians when investors took over 10 DISCOs in November 2013, including Kano DisCo. It was a new dawn for the residence of Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States, the DisCo with the largest geographical spread in the country.
Without much ado, the proactive and visionary leadership and management of the new owners swung into action of improving service delivery, reducing ATC & C loses, enhancing customer and technical services, human capital development, technology among others- a trajectory in which it won the bid to distribute electricity supply in the franchise area.
The initial task was creating a new corporate culture based on strategic leadership with sound corporate governance which produces a new mission, vision and values for the company that would in future become a world class distributor of safe and reliable power distributor focusing on customer satisfaction. This produces the first set of highly motivated and professional employees that effectively set the ball rolling for an improved power distribution business followed by network improvement.
KEDCO like other DISCOs inherited huge liabilities ranging from accumulated debt, poor network maintenance and rampant cases of energy theft, vandalism of overhead and underground cable, aluminum conductors, distribution transformers, draining of transformer oil and endless blackout in most parts of the coverage area – in record time, the management changed the narrative with swift fault evacuation and clearance, erection of new installations, filtration of 15MVA 33/11KV power transformer at Tamburawa water works injection substation, to improve the insulation level of an accumulation of impurities and sludge inside the transformer tank resulting to the completion and improvement of low insulation level. Similarly, Technical team has rehabilitated the oil filtration machine that enable recycling of transformer oil in the bid to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
In the early years of its operations, KEDCO installed infrastructure worth millions of Naira, notably, the rehabilitation of over 10 power transformers including the restoration of the burnt 15MVA 33/11KV transformer of IBB way injection substation in Katsina, the restoration of 7.5MVA 33/11KV transformer in Funtua, the 3.5MVA 33/11 KV transformer at Mariri and host of others. Equally, over 300 Distribution transformers that were either vandalized or overloaded were rehabilitated and energized, this is not to say that thousands of transformers were topped with transformer oil due to low oil insulation and overheating. These projects were mainly to improve the status of both 33 and 11KV feeders to pick full load and reduce the possibility of load shedding.
Among the myriad milestone was the addition of 1268 transformers to the network with an added capacity of 372,548.38KV as well as renovation of substations and control rooms to a capacity that will accommodate new panel for additional transformers in the last 9 years. Recently, the creation of workshop for prompt repairs of faulty transformers in order to meet an increasing customers’ demand. The workshop has recorded a major stride in saving the company millions of Naira and also it serves as a training ground for technical staff, student on Industrial Training and Excursion as well as other professionals across the franchise areas.
Similarly, all the 11KV lines on IDH injection substation have been rehabilitated to power major areas of the commercial cluster in Kano metropolis as well as to provide for future load and expansion which will accommodate the suppressed load and reduce losses.
An additional 518 High Voltage Distribution System (HVDS) under the World Bank project 0 50KVA, 25KVA and 11/0.415KV transformers were installed this is done to reduce illegal connection across the network and to improve the voltage profile. KEDCO also completed the 359.88KM of 33KV lines and additional 272.08KM 11KV line which expand the network, thereby, positioning the company to increase it average off take load from 159 MW in 2013 to over an average of 260MW in 2022, this improves energy sustainability and provide room for accommodating more Nigerians to be connected to the national grid. The management also commissioned 15 1X7.5MVA,33/11KVA and 2X7.5MVA national Integrated Power Project (NIPP) injection substation located at Kofar Mata, Farm Centre, Wudil, BUK New site, PRP, Airport Road, Dakatsalle, Law School, Katsina GRA, Dutse, Hadejia, Musawa, Kazaure and Malan Madori.
In the area of customer relations, the management rolled out various strategies that promptly resolved customers’ complaints such as the completion of world-class call centre that work 24/7, integration of CRM to the customer service, establishment of over 200 customer service points across the franchise area thereby bringing customers closer to the company, establishment of more than 60 technical compliant points and renovation and upgrade of all billing centers to improve operational efficiency. There is also KEDCO Rapid Response Team (RRT) for emergency, technical fault stationed at various locations and which is ever ready to swing into action with just a dial from any customers or employee.
Furthermore, KEDCO has metered all its Maximum demand customers as well as many clusters of customers through various metering scheme which include the CAPMI scheme, MAP scheme, the NMMP and other internal schemes aimed at bridging the wide metering gap met on ground 9 years ago, for instance, at takeover in 2013, there were only 45,000 meters in the network, just within few years, over 134,872 meters were installed across the region and recently, the company successfully completed phase Zero of the National Mass Metering Scheme with the installation of additional 87,747. This was made possible with the completion of route sequencing and CAVTI enumeration exercise which commences immediately the current management took over.
To tackle the recent security situation within the coverage area, the management employed the services of both private and national security personnel to protect lives and properties especially in areas around Funtua, Kankia and other areas with security challenges, the visionary effort of the management created a JTF in all the states and empower them with needed operational requirement to embark on swift action whenever they receive any distress call from staff or members of any community regarding either staff molestation or threat to the company’s installations.
In terms of information technology, KEDCO is at the forefront in providing enabling atmosphere for modernized power sector technology of the 21st century. This has helped in many ways and has reduced customers’ complaints drastically.
In term of staff development, the quest to improve overall efficiency in the sector has made the management to embark on massive capacity development programmes; so far, about 168 local and international trainings were held across different employees cadre, notable trainings include revenue protection, change management, filling and recording management, tariff modelling, emotional intelligence, customer service skills, technical for non-technical skills, building collection efficiency among others.
Also, the company has played its role of employing thousands of Nigerian Youth at junior, middle and top management positions with the aim of reducing unemployment rate as well as injecting fresh ideas to better the industry. The effort of KEDCO in giving students on I.T and young graduates skills, have also helped in building the skills capacity of youths while boosting their employability status.
To improve quality management system of the company, the management developed and approved all KEDCO processes using integrated management system which will give the company international recognition by obtaining ISO 9001:2015, with that the company stand to be one of the trail blazers in the industry, that is seen by the approval of 209 processes across all departments and units.
In the area of corporate visibility, the customers of KEDCO are among the most enlighten stakeholders in the NESI, this is as a result of constant dissemination of information about the company’s operations in all mass media across the three states.
Similarly, the management had embarked on many Corporate Social Responsibility activities, for instance, we established Women Literacy Centers in many rural communities in an effort to empower rural women with basic literacy and make them self-reliable, also, the company donated items to residence of Kano, Katsina and Jigawa during the 2020 lockdown as our own contribution to minimizing the effect of COVID 19, other CSR activities include the donation of multimillion Naira relief materials and food items to IDPs in Panshhekara, Kiyawa and other location affected by the activities of Boko Haram from 2014 to 2019, regular visitations to orphanages, sponsorship of educational trips, celebrating international women day with girls schools including Mairo Tijjanio College in 2016, WTC Kofar Famfo in 2018 and host of others. There was also donation of malaria treated mosquito nets to the vulnerable in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa States during the 2019 world malaria day.
In area of Health, Safety and Environment which is a critical aspect of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESUI)s, the management drastically reduced staff and third-party fatality from 24 at handover to five in 2021. Also, we saw improvement in routine safety checks of lines and other installations as required in global best practice. Similarly, the management introduced an annual safety mega drive where staff used software App to identify hazard capable of disrupting lives or properties across the franchise area. In 2021 for instance, over 5000 hazards were identified and with the proactive measures put in place by the management, 98% of such identified hazard were rectified, this and many other feasts in the area of hazard management placed the company as first position in NEMSA ranking for two consecutive years, that is in 2020 and 2021 as well as the CIPM peoples first safety Award in 2020. Additionally, another key milestone recorded was the establishment of regional safety coordinators with champions at Technical Service Points (TSP) level for a full coverage of the network and for immediate support towards tackling grassroots safety challenges.
In terms of operational vehicle and equipment, the management procured additional 3 cranes, 216 operational Hilux and Golf use for daily operations and maintenance (annual and preventive), there are also 199 motorcycles to access areas where cars are difficult to go and for shuttle in communities, the management procures 45 tricycles, 5 buses and two mini truck to ease operation and complaints resolution. Also, aluminium conductors are various sizes were procured and injected to the network, To facilitate speedy network maintenance, KEDCO recently procures over 500,000meters of 150mm and 100mm, over 120,000 meters of 500mm and 300mm LV cable single core as well as over 90,000meters of 150mm X 4 core LV cable with additional 20,000 HT and LT poles and over 700 ladders for connection, maintenance and repairs.
In area of staff welfare, the management approved the establishment of crèche for the children of female staff in order to encourage concentration and enhance their productivity while at work, this also showed that the management is very sensitive to the issue of gender relations and women development in workplace. During the COVID lockdown period, the management provide palliative to all staff to caution the effect of lockdown especially during Ramadan period. To support educational pursuit among staff, the management created an enabling environment for all staff that want additional qualification with flexible working condition that will enable the staff pursue his or her academic needs. Other welfare packages available for staff include insurance package, bereavement package to those who lost their life in the line of duty, sport development, engaging a world class HMO for staff and defendant health care facility, the involvement of major hospital for retainer-ship, subsidized catering services at the staff canteen, compensation package as exit gift to employees resigning or retiring working for at least 5 years, provision of comprehensive group life insurance cover, subscription to the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund, sponsorship of KEDCO football team from ordinary football team to Division two of the national league, free registration of staff at standard gym for routine exercise and conducive environment for staff-management collective bargaining during any industrial requirement.
Similarly, there is also the deployment of many App that will improve the overall operational efficiency which in turn will improve service delivery to our esteemed customers, App such as WAPTract, MAPTRACT and BI are few samples of Apps developed and deployed.
In term of revenue drive, at inception the ATC & C loses stood at 52.23%, but through strategic effort of the visionary leadership in the last 9 years, the ATC & C losses was drastically reduced from 52.23% in 2014 to 48.06% in 2021, this is partly due to investment and partly due to aggressive effort of the field staff, this in turn has boosted the revenue of the company from less than one billion in 2013 to about 4.2billion in 2022. However, from July to September 2022 there was an impressive performance in the area of revenue collection which in turn translate to a reduced ATC & C losses of 44% in July, 2022.
With the change in management recently, massive improvements in all aspects of the operations have been recorded. The Management already swung into action to address 7 KPIs mandated to KEDCO; such KPIs include revenue generation, improvement in cash collections, feeder metering, Compliance with Service Based Tariff and Capping. These was done through strategic meetings and relationship management with all stakeholders involved. Notably, the upgrade of substations to perform optimally with the view to improving overall service delivery to all segments of our customers. Upgrade of data centre to facilitate and support more of the company’s IT infrastructures, reduction in vandalism and power theft. The management has deployed strategies and initiatives to drastically reduce the ATC & C loses to match with the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) loss reduction trajectory.
With all the above milestone recorded in all areas of the company’s operation, KEDCO comfortably evacuated and distributed over 650MW to customers with available infrastructure put forward by the current management. Also, the installation provides a lot of benefits to companies- increased production- which signifies the attainment of the company’s commitment of re-industrializing Kano and the overall coverage area.
Ismaila, Team Lead, Publications and Brands, KEDCO and can be reach via ismeesha2006@gmail.com
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