The State is not making any savings as from 60 billion in 2022, the State’s electricity bill has risen to 70 billion CFA francs in 2023, an increase of 10 billion CFA francs in one year.

The electricity bill continues to weigh heavily on the national budget. It increases year after year. “We’ve just finished analyzing the electricity bill for 2023. In 2022, we were at 60 billion francs Cfa; in 2023, we’ve gone up to 70 billion francs Cfa. As each country develops, its real energy needs should increase. For example, the operation of the Regional Express Train (Ter), which is 100% electric, has increased the need for electricity, hence the importance of seeing how to rationalize the use of energy », declared Saër Diop, Managing Director of the Agency for the Conservation and Management of Energy (Aeme), yesterday, on the side-lines of the signing of a partnership agreement between his structure and the Commission for the Regulation of the Energy Sector (Crse).

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The aim of this partnership is to set up “a collaborative framework for the technical management of consumer complaints and claims relating to the reliability of electricity meters”. The President of Crse explains that “quality of service and customer satisfaction remain a crucial issue in a world where consumer expectations are increasingly high. They are looking not only for quality products and services, but also for an attentive ear and a rapid, effective response to their concerns and complaints”.

Ibrahima Niane said it is with this in mind, “that Crse and Aeme have decided to join forces, in order to strengthen their ability to respond to consumer needs with responsiveness and efficiency”. For Aeme’s General Manager, this agreement “is nothing more than the written materialization of a collaboration between their two structures”. Saër Diop points out that “last summer, after a wave of protests by consumers, some of whom had appealed to the Crse, in addition to awareness-raising activities aimed at households, the Aeme put its expertise at the service of citizens, following a referral from the Crse”.

Calibrating meters, the other challenge
And on their modus operandi, the CEO of Aeme says: “The customer, having doubts about the reliability of his billing, sends a letter of complaint to the president of the Crse. To check the condition of the electricity meter, the Crse commissions Aeme to take measurements that compare with those taken by the Senelec meter. At the end, a report is drawn up and submitted to the Crse…”

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For him, “this approach strengthens the way we take care of consumers, whatever their electricity supplier. With this agreement, Aeme becomes the technical arm of Crse for customer complaints”.

In addition to its collaboration with Crse, Aeme, according to Mr. Diop, is “concurrently running an energy-saving awareness campaign with Senelec, which has a twofold objective: to support the efforts of the highest authorities to control electricity operating costs, which represent some 70 billion CFA francs a year in the State budget, and to deploy resources to help households reduce their electricity bills, thereby making financial savings”. According to Aeme’s CEO, the country’s energy-saving potential is currently estimated at around 36%.

Consumer associations praised the collaboration between Crse and Aeme. As Ibrahima Dramé, President of the National Consumers Union of Senegal (Uncs), points out, this partnership will only strengthen the handling of consumer complaints and claims. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ibrahima Niane also informs that “as part of its drive to diversify its partners, Crse is planning to forge a partnership with the Ministry of Trade through the Directorate in charge of metrology, which will focus on the calibration of electricity consumers’ meters”.
By Dialigué FAYE / dialigue@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH