Electricity consumers bemoan DisCos’ exploitation amidst service failures
Adewale Akintaro
Electricity consumers are grumbling and bemoaning what they see as barefaced exploitation by electricity distribution companies in the country.
Long standing challenges like delayed access to prepaid meters, requests for bribes, and illegal disconnections are among the factors raised by consumers as being high in their complaints.
A staff of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, who craved anonymity, told this medium that customer service delivery in Bwari Area Council was deplorable.
“I m not sure, really don’t know if it is because we are far from town, but the customer service here is not friendly at all. They extort customers at will,” the source said.
The source stated that some officials of AEDC often show total disregard for proper verification procedures before installing meters.
According to the source, the Licensed Electrical Contractors Association of Nigeria is responsible for inspecting homes for the Meter Asset Provider reading, after which customer service is supposed to certify the type of meter to be installed within a week.
However, this process is often ignored, resulting in poor service and extortion.
The official said it was against the law to disconnect customers who have prepaid meters, yet some communities, including Kogo 1, Barangoni, and Tunduwada in the area council, were disconnected without notice.
What is more appalling according to our source is that when ever residents protested, the management called in the police to disperse them.
Our correspondent encountered a customer at the AEDC office in Bwari lamenting delays in receiving a prepaid meter.
“I applied for a meter in March. I was asked to write a letter, but now they tell me my form cannot be traced,” he said.
The complaints, it was learnt is not restricted to Abuja. Across Nigeria, residents have faced challenges with service delivery, including overbilling under estimated billing practices.
In a recent move, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission fined all 11 DisCos a total of N9.11bn for overbilling customers.
Residents of Samaru-Kataf Community in Kaduna State have expressed frustration over the persistent power outage in the area, which has severely affected economic activities.
A resident, Adebanjo Omotunde said “The power supply in our community has not been stable. On August 31, 2024, the incomer cable to our transformer was vandalised, resulting in a power outage that has lasted for weeks.”
The community wrote to the Area Manager of Kaduna Electricity in Kafanchan on September 6, 2024, lodging their complaint, but the authorities were yet to restore power.
“We are tired of living in darkness. Our businesses are suffering, and our lives are being disrupted. We pay fixed electricity bills of 8,000 naira and above, yet we don’t have meters. It is unfair,” he said.
The community was worried that despite the power outage, their electricity bills would continue to accumulate.
“They will still bring us bills, and we will be forced to pay for services not rendered,”Omotunde said.
The high cost of electricity bills is also a concern for the community, mostly comprised of farming families.
“The bills are exorbitant and unsustainable for us. We urge the authorities to intervene and provide relief,” he added.
They urged Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company to take immediate action to restore power to the community and address the issues of estimated billing.
“We demand a prompt response to our plight. We cannot continue to live in darkness while paying for services we don’t receive,” he added.
According to NERC’s September 2024 Supplementary Order of the Multi-Year Tariff Order, the Discos were fine for overbilling customers.
Abuja Disco was fined N1.69bn, followed by Eko and Ikeja Discos, each fined N1.41bn.
Other fines included Jos Disco (N1.33bn), Port Harcourt Disco (N1.16bn), Benin Disco (N804m), and Enugu Disco (N310m), while smaller fines were issued to Ibadan, Kaduna, Yola, and Kano Discos.
NERC stated that the fines follow a comprehensive investigation into the DisCos’ billing practices, particularly their non-compliance with previous directives aimed at capping estimated billing.
