…seek govt intervention
- Break monopoly of meter allocation – Manufacturers
Many Nigerians, most of who are resident in developing and far-flung communities across some states of the federation, have cried out to the Federal Government to save them from the inefficiencies of power distribution companies servicing their areas.
The Discos’ under-performance, which often leaves the affected communities in spells of darkness, thus making living conditions unbearable, is besides several cases of extortion of electricity consumers in illegal fees and charges for services that are never provided.
Some of the extortions allegedly perpetrated by staff of the Discos, range from collection of pre-paid meter registration fees without receipt, unapproved re-connection fees, leakage charges (usually included in estimated bills) and distribution of outrageous estimated bills for electricity not supplied, among others.
If the registration fee is not paid, they will not connect residents to the grid. Yet, this is in a community where we purchased the transformer, poles and cables by ourselves and were arm-twisted to transfer the ownership to Ikeja Electric. It is fraudulent for IE to insist that the same community should pay registration fee before it gets connected to the same transformer
Some of the affected communities, spread across Lagos, Ogun, Delta and Plateau states, include IgbogboBayeku, Magboro, Mowe, Ibafo, Warri and Jos.
Of particular concern is the registration fee, ranging between N6, 000 and N9, 000, and for which no receipt is issued, that millions of electricity consumers across these communities have been made to part with, as part of preparation for the issuance and connection of prepaid meters to their residences.
In some of the communities, to enable the Discos connect them to the grid, residents had to contribute money to buy transformers, cables and poles, in addition to being mandated by the Discos to transfer the ownership of the equipment.
These complaints came as most Nigerians continue to grapple with the challenge of epileptic power supply in homes, offices and various business locations.
WE NEED GOVT INTERVENTION – CONSUMERS
Residents of a community around Ikorodu, Lagos, Igbogbo-Bayeku, have concluded plans to besiege the headquarters of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Alausa, Lagos, over allegations of bloated estimated bills, illegal registration fees for pre-paid meters, leakage charges and supply of low and irregular current, among others.
For the illegal registration fees alone, IE is alleged to be collecting an average of N8, 000 per building in a community with over 500 developed houses.
Yet, Igbogbo-Bayeku is just one of several communities where this illegality is being perpetrated. Complaints are also rife in the community that Ikeja Disco is in the habit of fraudulently calculating electricity bills, and forcing residents to pay, in most cases, for power they did not consume.
A resident of the community, Mrs. Felicia Adekoya, who occupies an incomplete building, lamented that she receives a bill worth over N8, 000 monthly on the average.
“I am confused and tired. I am a retiree and where do they expect me to get N8, 000 on a monthly basis. I have also realised that the bill is a fraud.
There was a particular month I went to visit my daughter who put to bed and spent one month with her. I was, however, shocked to get a bill of N6, 000 for that month. Paying for a product not delivered or consumed is criminal,” she told our correspondent.
The Secretary, Bayeku-Igbogbo Community Development Association, Mr. Kamar Salaudeen, reiterated the fact that the staff of the Disco had been fleecing residents in the last two years.
According to him, asking them to pay registration fee for pre-paid meters without receipt is an illegal act by any private or publicly owned company.
He said, “If the registration fee is not paid, they will not connect residents to the grid. Yet, this is in a community where we purchased the transformer, poles and cables by ourselves and were arm-twisted to transfer the ownership to Ikeja Electric.
It is fraudulent for IE to insist that the same community should pay registration fee before it gets connected to the same transformer. “Aside from the registration fee, we are also forced to pay outrageous estimated bills and illegal reconnection charges.
This informs our decision to besiege the company’s headquarters next Monday for a peaceful protest. If our cries are not heard, we would give them seven days ultimatum to address our grievances before calling our lawyers to serve them notice.”
In Magboro, Ibafo and Mowe communities in Ogun State, some residents have also complained bitterly about what they described as arm-twisting and rip-off on the part of their Disco, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.
Just like their counterparts in Igbogbo in Ikorodu, over one million residents of Magboro, Ibafo, Mowe and other adjoining communities, have lamented how Ibadan Disco indirectly forced them to take over its responsibilities in the community.
Mr. Segun Ajibade, a resident said, “Some of the communities have bought transformers two times and were forced to do transfer of ownership in Ibadan Disco’s name.
At the end of the day, the equipment were taken away for use in other communities. After that, we have bought another set of transformers, poles and cables, but have yet to be connected to the national grid.”
Contrary to the promise of IBEDC that the communities, which had been in darkness for over six years, would be lit up from December 2016, the Secretary of the Ibafo Sector 3 Resident Association, Mr. Adeyemi Oni, said that the company only provided electricity a day to Christmas.
Oni said, “Some staff of the company have come around to collect over N5 million from us, claiming that they would use it to pacify management and facilitate the connection of our communities to the national grid but nothing has happened.
“I must tell you that the absence of public power supply has done a lot of damage to the border communities of Magboro, Ibafo, Aseshe and Mowe. Businesses have folded up as many companies have relocated while residents are moving out in droves.”
Meanwhile, residents in Warri and environs have besieged the Enerhen branch of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, as the aggrieved consumers staged a peaceful protest against bloated bills, inadequate supply of power and outright blackout for long spells. Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Bishop of Praise God Revival Ministry Inc., Rev. Ajokpoghene Okijenu, berated BEDC for putting the area in complete darkness as there was little or no supply of electricity from the distribution company.
He disclosed that the people were falling sick with the rate of crime increasing, as criminals were now taking advantage of the darkness to carry out their criminal activities. Okijenu called on the company to provide the people with pre-paid meters and stop giving residential houses estimated bills.
“I call on both the Federal Government and the Delta State Government to come to the aid of the people, who are already traumatised by the current economic recession.
Several artisans like welders, tailors, barbing and hairdressing salons, among others, spend fortunes on petrol and diesel to power their generating sets. Some, who could not cope, have closed shops and may take to crime.
The people are hungry and angry; government should act now as a stitch in time would save nine,” he lamented.
Another resident, Ms. Helen Oghasede, who sells drinks and frozen foods, was almost in tears as she explained how the epileptic power supply had almost crippled her business.
Similarly, electricity consumers in Plateau State have expressed displeasure with the Jos Electricity Distribution Company, over a series of service measures introduced by the company.
A group of the consumers, the Coalition of Plateau Residents and Consumers of JEDC, had risen to lead a campaign against the measures, which it argued had been introduced to exploit consumers.
In its letter to JEDC, the group outlined its complaints, warning of imminent public and legal actions should the company fail to address the consumers’ grievances.
Some of its complaints include alleged outrageous billings of consumers without proper explanations, indiscriminate estimate of bills without letting consumers know the parameters, installation of new prepaid meters without proper consultations or enlightenment of consumers, and poor response to customers’ complaints.
The group had led a protest march to the headquarters of the company in Jos, and the Plateau State House of Assembly where it submitted a petition.
A representative of the group, Mr. Sam Tokz, said, “The regulator states that you are supposed to meter every house, you don’t estimate bills. But JEDC started estimating bills in November 2016. A month later, they brought a bill of N17, 500 to those who were charged N2, 000 per month for estimation.”
6% NIGERIANS ACCESSED POWER IN 2016 – I-WIN
A research institute, Independent Energy Watch Initiative, stated that its survey found that despite the outrageous bills issued by the Discos, only six per cent of Nigerians enjoyed over 20 per cent power supply daily in 2016.
Chairman, i-WIN, Mr. Chidi Ike, explained that the survey, which was anchored on the feedback from electricity customers in Nigeria, was aimed at assessing the overall performance of the Electricity Distribution Companies.
He said, “A major outcome of the survey is the fact that 79 per cent of Nigerians have suffered a transformer failure or other forms of electricity supply infrastructure failure. It is noteworthy also that a nationwide average of 62 per cent of the affected customers are compelled to make contributions to replace the components of failed infrastructure to the extent it affects them.
“Also, from our findings, about 56 per cent of electricity customers in Nigeria experience less than eight hours of power supply availability daily. These low levels of service delivery have been highlighted in previous studies to be a major contributing cause of increasing deviant customer behaviour in Nigeria.”
BREAK MONOPOLY OF METER ALLOCATION – MANUFACTURER
To curb the menace of outrageous or estimated billing system, Chairman, Momas Electricity Meter Manufacturing Company Limited, Mr. Kola Balogun, urged the Federal Government and legislators to enact laws that would enable individuals procure their smart meters directly from local manufacturers.
“If the DISCOs are failing to provide them, the law will end the era of estimated bills. We will install for the individuals, if government is able to back up such procurement. The fact that current legislation gives DISCOs the monopoly as the sole provider of meters to consumers is the reason it has taken them a long time to meter customers. They should allow customers buy prepaid meters from any manufacturer of their choice,” he added.
Balogun lamented that it was unfortunate that despite all efforts by the government to ease the burden of consumers, DISCOs were still bent on going overseas to purchase smart meters.
According to him, local meters are of good quality, high standard, very strong and accurate, and their failure rate is minimal.
He said, “It is very unpatriotic, and unethical for DISCOs to procure these items abroad, when they can be produced locally. The implication is that they are giving employment to other countries, when there are millions of unemployed Nigerian youths.”
SANCTION DISCOS, BOOST SERVICE DELIVERY- EXPERTS
Experts and industry watchers have, however, urged the Federal Government to sanction the Discos over their alleged fraudulent activities in the sector.
An Electrical Engineer and former lecturer, University of Lagos, Mr. Segun Balogun, explained that most Discos were only fleecing electricity consumers and mounting strong campaigns to justify the obvious ripoff.
According to him, the poor and inefficient power generation, transmission and distribution has defied solution for almost 20 years despite the heavy financial provisions for electric power development during the period.
“Power supply continues to be tentative. Many Nigerians are not happy with the ‘crazy’ bills they get every month without commensurate electricity supply to their homes and business places. The Discos should be sanctioned for the rip-off and compelled to boost service delivery because power is the backbone of any economy,” he said.
A professor of Electronics Engineering, University of Jos, Prof. Barnabas Kwaha, who conducted a research on the “uncalibrated” meters, found that the billing method of the new meters was outrageous.
“If you were spending N5, 000 before on the former prepaid meter, you end up spending N38, 000 at the end of the month because the meter reads leakages. This means that if there are leakages even from the transformers or from the cables, the consumer pays for it. And even if you change to generator, that meter is still reading. So, the meter is clearly not calibrated,” he alleged.
