The Digital
Collection Channels Are Our Saying Grace In The Face Of Covid-19 Pandemic
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| Hafsat Sambo Head of Collections Channels |
CCD: Let begin
by sharing your thoughts on the business performance of the Company now
especially as regard to this trying period of Covid 19 pandemic?
Hafsat: A very scary thought!!
The COVID-19
pandemic is definitely going to have a very negative impact on the business
performance of the Company. Kaduna Electric has a lower tariff for residential
customers, which is way below the average cost of supply, as compared to that
of commercial and industrial consumers.
The lockdown
announced the various state authorities to contain the spread of COVID-19 has
led to shut down of all but essential commercial activities across our major
franchise area. Consequently, the electricity demand from industrial and
commercial customers has reduced significantly, while the residential demand
has increased.
Now with the
above-mentioned fact in mind, the key issue likely to arise is that, already
most postpaid customers deliberately refuse to understand is that, the bills
they are given, is their consumption for the previous month and not the current
month. And conveniently with the announcement of the suggestion on two months
free electricity by the National Assembly, even some of our MD customers
(businesses and profit making organizations) are refusing to accept the bills
as they are laying claims of the free supply that was even only a
suggestion, Imagine how our residential customers will react to that
statement.
KE operates in
a DISCO, where most residential customers have to be engaged monthly to get
them to pay their bills, with this lockdown where as a company that deals with
essential services we are limited to working from home for all staff with
the exception of technical, maintenance teams and selected sales points, no
bill distribution is likely to happen talk less of engagement.
Imagine the
effect this will have on our collections and business as a whole.
CCD: Let's look
at the performance of our third-party digital collection agents- buypower and
irecharge- how well are they fairing and what are the challenges, if any?
Hafsat: Well, the main challenge has always
been customer awareness which management has been doing a lot of work on that
but, if there is any positive outcome in this COVID 19 lockdown, then it is the
fact that we have had a remarkable increase in our online payment platforms,
because the collection figures via online channels has doubled the usual
monthly amount in the last 17days when the lockdown started.
Secondly,
mobile network is also another major challenge which prevents the SRs from
completing transactions at sales point in customer premises. This is an issue
we have very little control over.
CCD: A
substantial percentage of our customers do not respond to payment of their
bills which also contributes to our losses, what do you think is the cause of
this poor customers response and what is your suggestion on how to reverse the
trend?
Hafsat: In my opinion, the reason for this
border around ignorance and indiscipline in discharging civic responsibility
especially payment of utility bills.
This is a
question I have been asking customers over time and the responses I have been
getting as to why customers do not pay their bills ranges from overbilling, not
getting bills at the right time to lack of prepaid meters. Initially, I was
convinced that the reasons being given were genuine and issues needed to be
looked into, behold management came up with a strategy to meter customers free
to solve the overbilling issue. I remember, 2 weeks from the start of
installation, the customers started bypassing and rejecting these meters, ask
why and you will be told that the units were finishing too fast due to wrong
calibration, done purposely to cheat them. Secondly the enumeration exercise,
the customers with huge outstanding due to nonpayment started hiding their
bills and claiming they were new customers for capturing I could go on and on.
It was at this
point I realized that an average KE customer want to consume supply for free,
they do not understand what privatization means and do not even want to know.
The main
solution to this problem is investment ranging from technical to metering and
the monitoring and enumeration.
.
CCD: As the
Head of Collections Channels, what are the most challenging aspects of your
assignment?
Hafsat: Before COVID 19, It was the new
cashless policy introduced by CBN even though it has its advantages, the tariff
classes chosen by NERC is really bothersome, eg telling customers on D1 tariff
class mostly corn millers and welders that they can no longer make cash
payments in our cash office, that they will have to go to the bank or do
online transfers. This category of customers are even customers that are not
likely to pay their bills until they see our disconnection teams around the
corner. So convincing them to go cashless can be tasking.
CCD: Is there
any help or intervention you need from the higher Management?
Hafsat: Yes, our IT team in collaboration with
Fidelity Bank are on it, we are getting card enabled devices for our cash
offices, this will go along way in easing that tension.
CCD: Lastly,
how do we make it to the dream N3.5b monthly collection?
Hafsat: Hhmmm, the one million dollar question
as someone I know used to say.
This takes us
to that question I'm always afraid of being asked "which came first, the
egg or the chicken"
I.e we need
good investment to be able to collect 3.5b but at the same time we need good
collection figure to be able to invest and meet our goal.
CCD: In a few
words, who is Hafsat Sambo and what brings out the best out of her?
Hafsat: Hafsat is a Kaduna Electric die hard
and High collection figures bring out the best in me. Cheers!!!
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