MEET THE STAFF SERIES

How We Are Blocking Revenue Leakages to Generate More Revenue – Yunusa Kala

CCD: Tell us about yourself.   

YMK: My name is Yunusa Mohammed Kala, I joined Kaduna Electric 1st Sept 2015.

CCD: What are your primary responsibilities?

YMK: My primary responsibilities as revenue protection Officer is to investigate all active theft of electricity both single-phase and three-phase meters, correct unsafe situations caused by tempering with service, establish facts and show resilience in circumstances where deception may exist, and ensure strict compliance with the regulatory obligation.

CCD: As a team member Revenue Protection Unit, what are the major challenges Do you encounter?

YMK: The challenge is the lack of modern technology equipment for the detection of bypass and managing energy theft offenders. The Company should utilize the Special Investigation and Prosecution Task Force on Electricity Offences (SIPTEO) to bring to book all electricity offenders of various kinds.

CCD: How do you handle bypass customers?

YMK: We conduct an inspection of the customer's premises. Of course, there are procedures that time will not permit to explain in detail. Then the Inspection Report (IR) shall be filled out by the staff that visited the customer’s premises and signed by both the Staff and Customer. A copy will be given to the customer and referred to the Head Office, Room 212 where the necessary penalties shall be prepared.

 

CCD: Is there any penalty for them?

YMK: Yes! The penalty for customers with single-phase meter is 50,000 while a customer with three phase meter is 100,000. Additionally, A customer who

commits an internal bypass have to pay for the damaged meter, penalty fee, and loss of revenue which will be determined by the customer’s load and reconnection fee. While a customer who commits an external by-pass will pay a penalty, loss of revenue which is determined by his load, and a re-connection fee. You know a meter is a measuring device, once it has been tampered with or is faulty, you'll not have an accurate reading of the energy consumed. And the cost of intentionally damaging a single-phase meter is

63,061.27 while three phase is 117,910.69 vat exclusive.

CCD: What do you consider your major achievement since you assumed duty?

YMK:  Acquiring new knowledge and an assignment given to us by our head of the unit to work on 11kv Governor’s feeder, where the feeder PPM vending collection is low, As our team work on the feeder end to end checking those meters where we booked some of the customers on by-pass and blocked some leakages with the feeder network. And the next month the PPM collection in that feeder improved to 23% this is a collective effort of the team and am proud to be part of the team.

CCD: Any appeal or suggestions to staff or management?

YMK: Yes, as for the staff I will say job Weldon and the Management should come out with more sustainable ideas for

the future of the Company.

 

 

MEET THE STAFF SERIES

 Staff Should Adhere to ICT Policies and Advisories -Mustapha Gambo 

CCD: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
MG: My Name is Mustapha Gambo, a graduate of Computer Engineering from the prestigious Kaduna Polytechnic.

CCD: When did you join Kaduna Electric and what is your role in the ICT Department?
MG: I join Kaduna Electric in November 2020. My job role is Team Member, Hardware, in ICT Department.

CCD: How do you manage your daily activities?

MG: I start my activities with any task assigned to me by the Team Lead, Hardware. These often include installation, upgrading, updating, configuring, and troubleshooting of systems in various departments and across Area offices.

CCD: Can you share with us some of the support the ICT Dept. is rendering to other departments?
MG: We support and monitor the network services of various departments; we also train our fellow colleagues on computer operations. Actually, the ICT department support is not only within the Head Office, but it is all over the entire Company.

CCD: Tell us more about how to keep our computer hardware and software up to date.
MG: The best way to keep up to date is:

-Get advice from professional IT Personnel. Always ensure that it is only a trained ICT professional that handles your ICT needs.
- Avoid downloading any software update from third-party vendors without verifying the authenticity. Downloading software from a third-party vendor or unverified source could expose your system to viruses or certain unwanted malware.
-Using genuine software can help too.
-Report any IT issue to the IT department, to obtain the best result.

CCD: What do you consider the challenges in ICT Dept?
MG: The most challenging situation in the Department is noncompliance with ICT policies or advisories. Some staff are not adhering to ICT policies which exposes the ICT infrastructure to avoidable risks. Similarly, the is often delays in payment for the purchase of ICT equipment.

CCD: What do you do at your leisure time?
MG: I just stay indoors and rest with my family.

CCD: Any appeal or suggestion to Staff or Management?

MG: My appeal to staff is for us to redouble our efforts and work in strict compliance with the core values of the Company. My appeal to the Management is for proper funding; the Management should prioritize our request immediately