Electricity consumers in Lagos lament crazy bills

Electricity protest 

Electricity consumers in Lagos on Wednesday condemned the recent outrageous bills received from electricity companies in spite of poor power supply in November.

They rued arbitrary and excessive billing of consumers when electricity supply was not regular.

For instance, Mrs Chinansa Oke, a resident of FESTAC Town, said the attitude of electricity companies amounted to cheating consumers.

Oke said that there was need for urgent measures to address the abnormalities in the billing system and save innocent electricity consumers.

“Last October, we had no electricity supply and I was billed N3,500 for the month. In November, supply was erratic throughout the month and they brought N8,500.

“I don’t know the criteria they are using to bill us.

“I spent N12,000 to buy petroleum and they still want me to pay for the power that was not regular,” she said.

Mr Bode Akinfenwa, a resident of Ilasamaja, said that he had applied for pre-payment meter in January but till now it had not been installed.

“After applying for pre-paid meter for almost 10 months, the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company kept giving us estimated bill.

“This is an injustice to the masses. Government should rescue us from the hand of these investors.

“The most frustrating part of it is that even if there is no electricity for most of a month, we are still made to pay the same bill we paid previously.

“Many electricity consumers appear to be at the mercy of these electricity companies because they are the only supplier of electricity,” he said.

Mrs Damilola Joseph, a frozen fish seller at Ijora Market, said that power outage had forced majority of frozen fish sellers out of business because it was difficult to operate without supply.

Joseph appealed to the electricity companies to find lasting solution to power failure so that Nigerians could restore confidence in them.

Meanwhile, Mr Pekun Adeyanju, Assistant General Manager, Public Affairs Division of IKEDC, said that the management would begin installation of 500,000 smart meters in January 2015 to its numerous consumers.

Adeyanju said that this would eliminate the bondage of estimate billings being given to its consumers.

He, however, appealed to consumers within the network to complain any estimated or crazy bills to the nearest IKEDC Business Unit within their area.