KADUNA ELECTRIC NEWSLETTER 2ND EDITION AUGUST 2017

Management Assures Unions of Improved Staff Welfare

By Halima Shuaibu

The Chief Corporate Services Officer (CCSO), Mr. Mishra Uday has disclosed that Kaduna Electric would be rewarding employees who have distinguished themselves on their responsibilities as part of the company’s Staff Reward Package.

Mr. Uday who was speaking at a meeting with the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEC) said the Shining Star Initiative is one out the numerous plans by the company aimed at motivating staff and to improve productivity.

“Though there are problems of liquidity owing to poor revenue collection, we are not resting on our oars in ensuring that staff enjoy the best of working conditions”. 

On the issue of transport allowance, the CCSO said that would henceforth be paid or reimbursed for all expenses incurred in the discharge of duties. 

Responding, the Assistant General Secretary NUEE, Comrade A.R. Raji said the aim of their visit was to do a follow-up on the progress made on some of the resolutions reached at the last meeting and to demand for better working condition for staff especially in the area of safety.

Comrade Raji also tasked the management on a number of other issues ranging from Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), Employee Tax Certificate, work tools, improved condition of service, stressing that management must give priority to staff welfare as it is a precursor to the optimum performance of the company.

Other members of NUEE present at the meeting cited insecurity in most of the Injection Sub Stations, load rejections, inadequate transformers among others as hindrance to progress of the company while calling on management to address them as way out of some the challenges it is currently facing.

The President, SSAEC Kaduna Chapter, Comrade Rilwan Shehu gave some suggestions on what he considered a way out of the financial crisis the company is facing. 

 “The management should create a mechanism that encourages competition among staff/Area Offices outside Kaduna especially. They should ensure that Supervisors earn higher than their subordinates.   When there is a delay in the payment of salaries, it should be properly communicated to staff in a timely manner so as to douse any tension or prevent rumors from spreading. 

“Imprest should also be disbursed to BDROs as early as possible so as to enable Supervisors tackle minor network maintenance issues like changing cables and fuse”.

In his closing remarks, the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr. Major Bhaskar thanked the union members for cooperation while promising to see to the implementation of the resolutions reached.

Zero Injury at Work Place is our Mandate

By Halima Shuaibu

 

The Head, Safety, Health and Environment, Mr. J. C Adamu has said that safety training is a legal, moral and social obligation that requires all employees to be aware of the potential hazards in their work place in order to attain an injury free environment.

 Mr. Adamu made the disclosure while speaking to Kaduna Electric News shortly after the training session with the first batch of participants.

 He noted that even though the training was a refresher course it still must be taken seriously adding that it is part of the company’s proactive measure to forestall any form of accident. 

 The consequences of an unsafe act according to him, is far beyond that which affects the victim alone but has economic, legal and moral ramifications. 

 “If a victim is injured, the individual will not only be in pain but it will affect the outcome of his job. In some cases, people die and the families who are beneficiaries of his salary will suffer, he will no longer pay tax to the government, the company is being made to pay fines; socially and morally the colleagues of the victim will be traumatized.”

 Speaking, the Lead Facilitator, Engr. Gimba Saleh expressed satisfaction with the level of interaction with participants which he said is an indication that safety consciousness will increase amongst staff.

 Engr. Saleh while expatiating on the topic: “Behavioral Base Safety” advised the participants to start by changing their attitude, recognizing hazards and knowing what to do in emergencies.  He stressed that the company safety objective is to attain zero injury in work place.

 “And to achieve the objective of a zero injury at workplace all hands must be on deck to ensure that we are safety conscious and help others remain safe.” 

 

Project 415 Targets 1million Customers

Team Lead Enumerations

 By Asmau Muhammad

The Team Lead in charge of enumerations and the coordinator of Project 415, Tijjani Mustapha Galangi has projected that the ongoing enumerations exercise will boost the customer base of the company from the present 455,000 to about 1million on completion.

 He made the disclosure in an exclusive interview with our correspondent Asma’u Mohammed in his office recently.

 According to Galangi, the enumeration excise has also enabled the Company to take stock of its assets, such as HT and LT lines, distribution sub-stations as well as identifying all existing and potentials customers thereby providing more accurate and reliable data needed for planning and project execution.

 He also disclosed that the project 415 has afforded the team opportunity to sensitize the public on the operations of the Company, their rights, obligations and other sundry information.

 “The team members do take time off to engage community and opinion leaders, thereby creating awareness among the populace and reducing misunderstanding”. 

 He relates Project 415 to the overall success of the company.

 “This project will help us find out and know our customers, we will learn what they are lacking and how to serve them better, and of course it would enable us bring in more customers into our data base and by doing that, we are increasing the revenue capacity of the Company.

 “Of course once we have more customers that are registered in the data base and are being billed, we would have a better chance to collect more money since the energy is already out there and is being taken. In essence, the project will help us identify all these issues, help us to bill our customers appropriately based on what they consume; it will also help reduce our commercial losses”.

 Galangi appealed to the Management to continue to support the Project through the provision of all needed logistics wherever required.   

    

There Will No Hiding Place for Under-Performing Staff -BDRO Sokoto

By Mohammed Abbah 

 

The Business Development and Relationship Officer, Sokoto Area Office, Abubakar Ibrahim Hashim has called on staff of his Area Office to rededicate themselves to duty, saying that it by so doing that their output can improve. 

Hashim, was speaking recently at a meeting where the newly appointed Feeder and Technical Supervisors in Sokoto was formally introduced.

He said there was a need for attitudinal change and for staff to shun all forms of laziness, warning that no act of indolence will be tolerated.

He also emphasized the need for the staff to work as a team towards improving the cash collection of the area office.

The BDRO reminded them of the meeting he had with the MD on the three months Quarterly Performance Review of the company, which he noted was poor adding that the outcome of the meeting was what led to the signing of a Performance Bond.

According to him, the implication of the Bond is that excuses will no longer be accepted as reason for low cash collection pointing out that Service Center Supervisors will now be held responsible for unmet targets. 

“The target given to the area offices in the month of August is realistic and achievable if all staff will work hard towards attaining it. We must also strategize on how to collect outstanding debts from owing customers”. 

He charged the Feeder Supervisors to analyze their feeder collection both prepaid and post-paid and come up with a workable plan.

Hashim lamented the drop-in revenue from prepaid customers and called for proper monitoring of the PPM customers, adding that PPM monitoring is not only the responsibility of metering staff but also the responsibility of all. 

He directed all the Sales Representatives to re-enumerate their customers as each of them will be allocated transformers which clearly spells out the amount expected from them, hence, there will be no hiding place under-performing staff.

 On his part, the Operation Supervisor for Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, Engr. Umaru Sani reiterated the need to embrace hard work as key to ensuring effective service delivery to the customers pointing out that Feeder Supervisors especially, should be mindful of energy management and channel the energy to paying customers.

Cash Collection to Be Monitored Weekly in Kebbi 

 By Nafiu Kabir  

There is urgent need to focus our attention more on effective cash collection by ensuring that set targets are met as the survival of the company solely rests on how much revenue we can realize, the Ag. Business Development and Relationship Officer (BDRO), Kebbi Area Office, Mr. Stephen Ajayi has said.

He gave this charge during the Monthly Performance Review of Kebbi area Office recently. 

Ajayi directed that all Service Center Supervisors should monitor their collection on a weekly basis by tracing it to the Sales Representatives in charge and the quantum of energy received.  

He emphasized the need for constant monitoring of installations especially Prepaid Meters (PPM) while reminding the marketing team that they are constantly being assessed based on their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  

Speaking on the newly assigned Supervisors, the BDRO said the re-shuffle was necessitated by need for improved productivity, which according to him should translate to increase in cash collection.

Mr. Ajayi requested them to always seek for explanation on why energy supplied did not tally with cash collected, and to reveal those behind nonpayment of bills. 

In his remarks, the Distribution Engineer (DE), Engr. Dogara Saidu noted that one of the most reliable ways to monitor cash collection is by matching the quantum of energy delivered to transformers with the cash received from the area stressing that all Service Center Supervisors must key in to revenue drive project. 

“It is from the revenue collected that we pay the Market Operators, carry out maintenance and also pay your salaries. Let me ask you, can all these be achieved without striving to collect back our revenue? This is why you must always monitor both PPM and Non-PPM customers”.