Electricity consumers in Lagos have appealed to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to extend the ‘no meter no payment’ directive, given to Distribution Companies (DISCOs) on Maximum Demand (MD) customers, to homes.
The consumers expressed this and others viewpoints in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.
They said that the policy would force DISCOs to meter the residential consumers like they did to MD customers.
Mr Johnson Faleke, a landlord in Ikeja, said that the electricity distribution companies had failed in terms of metering.
According to him, the issue of metering has been on since 2012 with little or nothing done by the Discos.
“When the issue of no meter no payment first came up late 2014, we believed that the scheme was going to cut across the consumers.
“The ultimatum which was to last till October 2016 is now taking another dimension, limiting its coverage to industrial areas only.
“However, it will be of a great benefit if this olive branch could be extended to all electricity consumers,” he said.
Mr Alex Ibekwe, a resident of Ketu, said that DISCOs were feeding fat on estimated billing of residential consumers.
Ibekwe said that he applied for prepaid meter in 2013, expressed concern that till date, he had not been metered, in spite the fact that he paid for the meter.
He further said that he travelled out of his house for six months, adding that in those months, nobody was using the electricity supply in his two-bed roomed flat.
Ibekwe noted the development came up though he informed the appropriate authority of his absence.
“I was surprised to see a bill of N110,000 for the supply of the electricity that I did not use in six months.
“When I complained to my nearest IE office, I was told that our area marketer of IE had been sacked; so, I have to pay the bill.
“But if I have a prepaid meter, I don’t have to tell anybody; I will just switch off my supply.
“DISCOs are reaping where they did not sow and that is why they have refused to meter us,” he said.
Mrs Chinyere Okolie, a resident of Iyana-Ipaja, said that some of the monthly bills brought by DISCOs were ridiculous.
“I parked out of my former apartment because of estimated billing palaver.
“I was paying N15,000 monthly when Ikeja Electric was bringing estimated bill of N25,000 monthly, how can I survive that,” she said.
Okolie appealed to NERC to compel DISCOs to meter all residential areas within a stipulated time, adding that estimated billing was like robbing ‘Peter to pay Paul.’
Mr Atilade Bolarinwa, Vice-Chairman, Unistar Hi-Tech Systems Ltd., Lagos, a local meter manufacturing company, however, said that holistic programme should be collectively drawn up by the NERC and DISCOs on metering.
Bolarinwa said that commanding distribution companies by NERC would only aggravate the situations.
According to him, all stakeholders should meet and set smart standards with sanctions that will be enforceable.
He said that DISCOs were not the only cog in the wheel of progress of metering.
NAN reports that NERC on June 11, reminded electricity consumers not provided with prepaid meters to stop paying electric bills presented by DISCOs, on the basis of estimated billing methodology.
The commission ordered the DISCOs not to disconnect any such customer that refuses to pay the bills and advised electricity customers to report to the commission, if disconnected.
NERC said the directive was to enable DISCOs to effectively execute the metering deployment plan for MD customers. (NAN)
ROR/FLP/DUA