CPC to Discos: Give consumers value for money

Following The Point’s investigation on how electricity distribution companies fleece Nigerians through illegal charges and estimated bills, the Consumer Protection Council has warned the firms to uphold corporate governance or face the consequences.
The Director General, CPC, Mr. Babatunde Irukera, frowned at a situation where the discos across major cities in the country failed to deliver pre-paid meters to their customers, years after payment.
According to him, findings of the council revealed that several Nigerians are billed for the power they didn’t consume, adding that CPC is set to engage the Discos and ensure they comply with the directives of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission that all consumers must be metered three months after connection.
“They must understand the signs of times and embrace the new order of prioritising consumer protection. This is the pre-eminent factor in protecting brand, businesses, managing crisis, building confidence and corporate growth as customer satisfaction is the most vital pillar to loyalty and trust.
“President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration recognises the role of business and their Chief Executive Officers in economic expansion and as such, is always listening to credible, transparent, genuine, fair-minded, well-meaning and societally committed businesses,” he told The Point.
The CPC boss argued that consumer protection was more important than Corporate Social Responsibility, noting that CSR is sometimes viewed with “suspicion and characterised as self-serving in part, because the companies have not truly satisfied their customers.”
Irukera maintained that “nothing repairs or maintains reputation and eliminates distrust better than fairness to customers and satisfaction in the products they purchase or consume.”
He emphasised the uniformity of CPC’s objective with companies in the association, which is to please consumers and this, he said, made the case for industry and CPC collaboration, noting, “When customer service is at its best, consumers are truly happy, spending is up, economic indicators are encouraging, my job is done, your performance is assured, and your brands
endure.”