MEET THE STAFF SERIES

Curtailing the Commercial and Collection Losses is Our Major Concern… Bashir abdulmalik

    Bashir abdulmalik hcb manager  kebbi

CCD: Sir Can we briefly have your profile?

BA: My name is Bashir AbdulMalik,  I am  a marketer and have been in the marketing department over the years. I once held the position of feeder supervisor in the Company and I am currently the High Customer Based Manager of Kebbi Region.

CCD: How do you see the new structure of the Company?

BA: The new structure is well thought of and has a lot of ingredient that no doubt will move the Company forward; it came at the right. Our hope is that it would be implemented religiously.

CCD: Since your office is a new one in the Company, what are your responsibilities?

BA: My responsibilities are numerous; I am in charge of bill distribution to the end point, ensuring that all non– maximum demand customers settle their electricity bills and reconnection fees are paid where applicable and timely rendition of returns.

CCD: How are these tasks you undertake help the business?

BA:  By making sure that bills get to all customers on time is the first step towards successful revenue generation. My duty also provides the Company an opportunity to have up-to-date data in relation to response to payment, tracking bills/payment, etc. I don’t think the revenue being realized could have been possible without these tasks.

CCD: What are the challenges Kaduna Electric is facing from your own view?

BA: Challenges are inevitable that cannot be ruled out in an ideal set up; for any advantage there  is disadvantage. The biggest challenge this company has is energy

losses, and these energy losses are in stages and different fold, we have energy loses as a result of theft and as a result of network and we striving so much to overcome it.

CCD: How can we overcome some of the challenges you have mentioned?

BA: Overcoming this challenge is going to be gradual but we need  high level of prudency and integrity. We should start with plugging all loopholes to energy loss   by making sure that the entire energy intake are dully accounted for.

CCD: Kebbi Region has large area of coverage how do you operate?

BA: Indeed, Kebbi Region has large area of coverage and the thing is that we have sales/customers service points across the State; we have the Area Office, then the feeders which covers towns and villages. These feeders are managed by the feeder managers who oversees the activities of cash collection with the help of sales representatives and other supporting staff. These crews’ activities ensures optimum commercial activities in relation to energy distributions and sales. However, these feeder managers activities are checked time to time making sure that they adhere strictly to the established procedure/processes

CCD: Business like ours need accountability, fairness, how do you do it within your capacity?

BA: Accountability is an umbrella word, it cut across all aspect of the Company’s operations; to be accountable is to ensure that all the customer really pay what they have consumed, making sure that the money collected are remitted to the Company’s coffer, to ensure that we discharge our duties diligently, to prudently make resources in our care, to effectively supervise our subordinates, etc. This is accountability.

CCD: How is the relationship with other department ?

BA: The Company is like a moving vehicle where we have the tires, the wheels, engine, body and field. We must work  harmoniously within ourselves to achieve a common goal.

CCD: Target remains an issue of discussion, what is your take on Kebbi Region’s target?

BA: Target is an avenue for appraisal and to determine ones focus, if you don’t have a target, it means you don’t have a focus. For example, we have targets to cover, certain number of customers, to meet up customer demands, to make sure that energy consumed is been paid for, ensure that the human resources available are effectively utilized, etc. So,  targets are part of any human setting.

CCD: Sir, how can we build wonderful and marvelous Kaduna Electric?

BA: The beginning of a beautiful structure starts from good planning, Kaduna electric has a base, I will love to put it to the Management  and staff of Kaduna Electric as well that a lot is expected from us. So, we must work very hard.

MEET THE STAFF SERIES

Increasing Our Market Size is Key to Meeting Our Collections Target… Tambuwal

CCD: Nura Faruk Tambuwal, tell us about your journey in Kaduna Electric?

Nura Faruk  Sokoto Regional Office

NFT: I joined the Company in January 2008 when it was PHCN as officer 3 (lines). So, I was opportune to witnessed the transition to Kaduna Electric. I was one of the lucky ones that scaled through a rigorous recruitment exercise by Kaduna Electric in 2015 and was retained. I supervised many Service Centers in Kebbi Regional Office, namely Bulasa Feeder, Bayan kara Feeder and Tambuwal Feeder. In April 2018, I was redeployed to Sokoto Regional Office as a Feeder Manager, Water Works Feeder.

The journey has been a mixture of challenges and success; it has not been easy because of the nature of the service we provide but there have equally been some achievements, which we must not fail to acknowledge; when I assumed duty at the Water Works Feeder in April, the revenue collection of march was 6.5million naira, then in May, we raised it to 7.8 million naira. I believe in team work and the staff that work under me really cooperate, we work as a team. We are not relenting; we will continue to put in our best in meeting the set target of the feeder.

CCD: As a supervisor, how do you run the service center?

NFT: Well, my primary assignment is to steer the activities of marketing, engineering and other departments under my center with the sole objective of ensuring a 100% collection of revenues and ensure that the customers’ complaints are resolved within shortest time. I also monitor the bill distribution process on daily basis through painstaking review of the established trackers; for example, I follow the

process carefully when bills are printed to ensure that all bills are fully distributed to the customers. I also maintain a culture of morning briefing with my staff on daily basis, it helps me a lot to know where I will put more emphasis in achieving my target.

CCD: What is your total customer population?

NFT: I can categorically state that we have 4,350 customers, both prepaid and postpaid. However, the prepaid customers are not more than 5 percent of the total customers’ population. I have a concrete plan already, I gave each sales rep a target so that an average of 120 customers are captured on a monthly basis, we hope to hit higher figures and increase our customers base.

CCD: Meeting our collection target is a major challenge facing the Regional Office now, how do we boost the collection?

NFT: well, increasing our market size is the key here, and that can be achieved through continuous enumeration and separation of both existing and new customers. Thus, the more customers are captured into the billing system, the more revenue to be generated. Secondly, we must intensify efforts at blocking leakages such as energy theft, meter bypass and recovery of outstanding debt, these will surely increase collection of Regional Office.

Finally, I must commend the effort of enforcement team of the Regional Office for the wonderful job they are doing in blocking leakages.

CCD: Give us a breakdown of your customer classification?

NFT: Out of a total of 4,350 customers, 4,250 are post-paid customers, 100 are prepaid customers.

CCD: What are the strategies for an effective cash collection?

NFT: Ensure that MDs and Non-MD bills are printed within the first week of every month, after monthly salaries have been paid, to enable salary earners pay their bills as at when due. Also establish and maintain good rapport with traditional leaders in rural communities who have been helpful to us in terms of revenue collection and generation, tariff re-classification to ensure that our customers are placed on appropriate tariff class. There is also the need for more awareness/sensitization campaigns. We need the buy-in of all the stakeholders.

CCD: What would you like to be remembered for?

NFT: I would like people to remember me for my integrity, honesty and transparency.

CCD: Your last word to staff at this point?

 NFT: I want all the staff to be on a positive side. Let us prove ourselves to be the best and let service to the Company be our goal.

MEET THE STAFF SERIES

The Company Will Excel if Everybody Takes Ownership of the Business…..Tommy Ogunsola

CCD: Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

AO: Tommy Ogunsola is a young man from a humble background, I have a degree in Management Information System and MSc in Management Information Systems; I have some other qualifications like NIM, National Institute of Management and BCS, British in Computer Society. For my work background, I did four years in HSBC Bank in UK as a Senior Customers Service/ Data Analyst; when I left, I worked for five years with Lloyds Bank Group in UK as a Data Analyst and now in Kaduna Electric.

CCD: How did it start with you at Kaduna Electric?

TO: I joined Kaduna Electric in February, 2018 as a Data Analyst in the Commercial Department, it began with mixed feelings; shock, anxiety, optimism and so forth.  From what I mentioned earlier, where I worked before, to me Kaduna Electric is still a child, there is a lot that need to be done in terms of getting all the data ready, ethics and so on.

CCD: What specifically is your responsibility?

TO: I am a Data Analysts; the importance of the accuracy and integrity of data in an Electricity company cannot be over emphasized. Once you get your data correctly, then you can go and chase the money out.

My job specifically is to manage the data of Commercial Department, I do that by joining the existing data and making sure there is data integrity. I ensure all the reports they send to us on daily basis tally with what we have, for instance on a bulk code we have a number of DTs. DTs are like transformers, we have up to one thousand and there are labeled with names. They must match with what is on our system, with what people are reporting from the field. Any one that is taken out we must know, so we don’t expect revenue on those that have been taken out, all the time we struggle enough with the input. 

I am proud to say 2billion Naira revenue collected last month was hit for the company and for June, we did a lot of data plan. We have engaged sales reps on SMS being sent to them, we are tracking every movement of all the sales reps through irecharge devices. The devices have a tracker which I am managing, so I can see their movements and payments on my dashboard. At the end of the month I send the report that XYZ did not use their device and they will be cautioned for not using it.

CCD: How can your role as a Data Analyst help to block revenue leakages in the company?

TO: My role as a data analyst, is helping the company block revenue leakages. Because what I understand is that Kaduna Electric has never had a way of reporting daily sales to let their sales reps on the field know and see what is ahead of them. There is a link between what they report to Hafsat and accounts unit. So, what I do when I get data from Hafsa and accounts on daily sales, I compare it with their target, you may think you hit your target. But I created a template where I put the data and send it on daily basis to sales reps for them to see what they have done so far. So basically, data plan helps and I am still doing a lot of data plan.

CCD: One of our major issue is the ATC&C losses, what do you think need to be done to minimize the losses?

TO: Once we improve collection we can manage to reduce the loses and these can be done by everyone, taking charge of what they are assigned to do, like if I am giving ten clusters, I should make sure all the customers on that cluster pay their bills and shouldn’t be less than their current charges; we cannot manage our infrastructures without getting our money and we can do that with commitment. Our strategy team have been doing our home work because a lot of people assume that Head Office commercial team rest a lot. Though, is a free world, we allow you say whatever they feel is right, we don’t need to talk, we let the numbers do the talking for us. Kaduna Electric as a company, from the public era to private have not seen the changes we put in, nobody else need to prove a point to anybody since in the history of Kaduna Electric, Kaduna Electric have never hit the 2billion.

CCD: Appeal/suggestion to the Management or staff?

TO: everybody should take ownership of what you’ve been given to do and make sure you do it to your best and please if an email is send or receive, show acknowledgement.