Residents of Osogbo, Osun State, who rely on prepaid meters provided by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), are expressing frustration over their current inability to vend for electricity from their phones.
Many customers have reported difficulties in accessing the vending service, which has forced them to visit the regional office located at Station Road in Osogbo.
According to IBEDC, the recent network downtime is a result of increased pressure on the system as customers rush to vend before the deadline for rollover of prepaid meters.
Adeyemi Sherifat Bose, a customer of IBEDC, shared her experience of having to go to the regional office to vend for electricity. “Before today, I used to vend online. But for days now, it has been difficult doing that. I was running low on electricity and in order not to be in darkness at the end of the day, I went to the Ogo-Oluwa office but was told there was no network that I should proceed to Station Road,” she explained.
Another customer, Olajumoke Moses, has been without electricity for the past three days due to her husband’s inability to recharge their prepaid meter remotely. “He has been telling me that it has become difficult for him to vend for me. He said he has been on it for days and it has been having network issues,” she lamented.
Speculations have arisen among residents that IBEDC may be intentionally inconveniencing customers to discourage online purchasing. “They want to eliminate the middle man. They want all of us to be vending from their offices. In this day and age of technological advances, IBEDC is going back,” voiced one of the frustrated customers.
Olajumoke Anu, an online vendor, confirmed the issues faced by customers. “On many occasions, my account will be debited and no token will be sent. When I discovered that it was recurring, I stopped that part of my business until IBEDC sorts itself out,” she disclosed.
Busolami Tunwase, the Lead of Media Relations at IBEDC, acknowledged the network downtime and its impact on customers. “Intermittently, there could be downtime but it doesn’t last for long. I think the pressure really is just the phobia of people getting cut off before the rollover date,” he explained.
Tunwase reassured customers that IBEDC has multiple options available for vending, including purchasing tokens through their website or visiting their office. He also emphasized that the deadline for rollover is in November, urging customers not to rush and assuring them that there is still ample time to vend.
