LAGOS – The Association of Electricity Consumers of Nigeria (AECN) has urged the Federal Government to investigate the activities of Distribution Companies (DISCOs), over their continued estimated energy billing system.
The National President of AECN, Mr Ganiyu Makanjuola, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.
Makanjuola said that the privatisation of the nation’s electricity sector made it illogical for DISCOs’ to engage in arbitrary tariffs in spite of poor power supply and distribution system in the country.
“We cherish the privatisation of the power sector by the Federal Government but we cannot understand the continued over estimated billing system which had made nonsense of the privatisation.
“The privatisation of power supply is meant to be the bedrock for sustainable socio-economic growth and development.
“But today, the DISCOs have deviated from the directive of Chairman of National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr Sam Amadi, that bills should not be given to residents that don’t enjoy energy for two weeks.
“The over bloated estimated bills between N6, 000 and N8, 500 are charged on residents monthly,’’ he said.[eap_ad_2]
Makanjuola said the Federal Government should be proactive and ensure the eradication of estimated bills.
“Prepaid meters should be made available and there should be an end to the estimated billing system regime in the country,” he said.
NAN recalls that the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) only recently announced plans to roll out 360,000 electricity meters for customers presently on estimated bills.
EKEDC said that the project would cost about N1.3billion.
The Managing Director of EKEDC, Mr Oladele Amoda, made this know during the recent oversight visit by members of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation.
Amoda said that the company would start with about 5,000 meters for all high voltage or maximum demand customers responsible for about 70 per cent of the company’s revenue profile. (NAN)[eap_ad_3]
