Nigerians have continued to reel under the excruciating pain of estimated bills roll out on monthly basis by electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) despite feeble threats by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to check the rip off.
“Our plight did not just start during this Covid-19 period; it has been a long-drawn battle between the Disco in charge of my area and many of their customers. I fret as I see huge bill for electricity that was net consumed. In April, during the lockdown, we thought they were not going to bring bill, but they did, even doubling the already high bill. I think it is sheer wickedness for individuals to just sit down and dish out bills that can cause their customers heart attack,” a woman, who identified herself as Bisi, said.
Another consumer who resides in Surulere area of Lagos State described his experience as heart-rending.
“I live in a 3-bedroom apartment in Surulere. When I parked into the flat in 2010, I discovered that the meter was faulty and I alerted the DisCos undertaking office at Jibowu. I was put on estimated billing system which has turned out a huge rip off in the last four years,” the customer said, pleading anonymity.
According to him, “From the first year in the apartment, my monthly bill rose from N10,000 to sometimes N25,000 or N28,000. All complaints to the office at Jibowu proved abortive. I had to write an official letter to the Marina head office of the company. On request, a two-man accessor team was sent to my apartment. Consequent upon their report, the bill was pegged at N10,000. I made a case for a pre-paid meter. I am still on it till date.” He further said.
The customer complained that rather than stick to the N10,000 monthly bill, the DisCo has since reverted to the former ultra-crazy billing. Even during the April lockdown, when other DisCos announced rebate for their customers, Eko Electricity sky-rocketed my bill to above N22,000. When I rushed back to the Jibowu office, my marketing manager said there was nothing she could do. Honestly, if I calculate the money I had paid for epileptic power supply in the last four years, I could get a second-hand car (Tokunbo). That is my ordeal,” he further lamented.
Recall that in the heat of the lockdown, some DisCos had announced a rebate for their customers for the month of April as a way to cushion the effect of the lockdown.
The NERC had also in February 2020 issued an order- Transitional Capping of Estimated Bills by DisCos. The order placed a cap on estimated bills that can be issued to unmetered customers. The Commission had said that the order cancelled the Estimated Billing Methodology Regulation as a basis for computing consumption of unmetered customers by DisCos, capping the maximum bill an average unmetered customer can pay at N1,875.
But observers have accused the NERC of behaving like a toothless bulldog- always barking without biting.
“I think there is collusion between the DisCos and the NERC. Otherwise, I do not see why the Commission cannot enforce the rules it made. I read the other day that it had concluded plans to sanction seven DisCos. I am anxiously waiting for that day when this will happen,” Rufus Olatunji, a businessman, said.
A resident of Agbado-Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Alomosho area of Lagos, told BDSUNDAY that he has suffered terribly in the hands of Ikeja DisCos.
“I don’t have a meter. What they do is, after allocating bill to those with meters, they now pile the heavy balance on some of us without meter under estimated billing, in order to realise their targeted revenue from the area. Whereas those with meter may pay, say, N3000, they will give me a bill of N10,000. I complain every month but nobody listens,” a customer who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
He said he blames the NERC for the excesses of the DisCos.
“If you say you are a regulator and people are being duped in the name of ‘crazy’ bills, and they are shouting, why have you kept quiet? NERC has continued to issue threats, but threats alone cannot solve any problem. They need to take action to prove a point. We cannot continue to do things as if we are not human beings,” the consumer further said.
Recall that the House of Representatives had in October 2019 passed a bill to criminalise estimated billing of electricity consumers by distribution companies.
When the proposed law is concurred with by the Senate and assented to by the President, it will become criminal for service providers to issue estimated bills, also known as ‘crazy bills’, issuance of which would attract either a one-year jail term or a fine of N1million or both.
The proposed law would also compel a distribution company to provide prepaid meter to an applicant within 30 days, while barring the DisCos from disconnecting the consumer after the 30-day period within which meter should be installed.
The Electric Power Sector Reform Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, which Gbajabiamila, then as Majority Leader, presented in the Eighth National Assembly, was re-presented in July 2019.
The bill is titled, ‘A bill for an act to amend the electric power sector reforms Act to prohibit and criminalise estimated billing by electricity distribution companies and provide for compulsory installation of pre-paid meters to all power consumers in Nigeria and other related matters.’
Meanwhile, the NERC, last Tuesday announced it had issued notice of intention to commence enforcement action against seven DisCos over their failure to comply with its Order 197/2020 on capping of unmetered residential (R2) and commercial (C1) electricity customers.
According to the Commission, the affected DisCos are Benin, Enugu, Ikeja, Eko, Kano, Kaduna and Port Harcourt.
The electricity regulatory agency gave the information about the enforcement notice through its official Twitter handle, @NERCNG.
The order was to ensure consumers in the two categories, who do not have electricity meters installed for them by the DisCos, were not disconnected from the electricity supply grid.
The DisCos were given 14 days beginning from June 4, 2020, to explain why they should not be sanctioned over their alleged non-compliance.
