MAURICE OKAFOR writes that the National Electricity Regulation Council [NERC] envisaged permit to distribution companies to increase tariff is generating tension in the South East zone of the country, where the ‘Enugu Electricity Distribution Company[EEDC] owned by an Igbo business man, Chief Emeka Offor is solely in charge of distribution and metering of the consumers.
Presently, there are serious complaints that NERC new policy in the expected tariff hike is very much lopsided against the South East zone with a skyrocketing increase from N17.42 per kilowatt hour[kwh] to N30.93kwh. Whereas, the major cities like Ikeja Lagos with all the trappings of multinational companies and industries operating in the area will expect tariff hike from N13.34kwh to N21.84kwh.
The comparison shows that while consumers within Ikeja distribution company will experience about fifty percent increase in their electric bills, consumers within the services of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company[EEDC] will have over eighty percent increase in their bills.
The Deputy minority leader, House of Reps, Hon Toby Okechukwu, was quoted by a reputable online media outfit that the National assembly will question NERC on the reason for the disparity in as much as the National assembly will want to know why Nigerians will be paying more for staying in darkness.
Even as the NERC new tariff hike policy is still an issue of national discourse, trouble is brewing in the South East zone of the country with regards to the methods and strategies being introduced by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company[EEDC] in letting it’s consumers pay for power usage and services rendered.
The EEDC presently is insisting that stand alone meters owned and still used by many of it’s consumers will no longer be in vogue from this year, notwithstanding the fact that most of the consumers who paid an approximate of N39,000 or N78,000 either for the single phase or double phase pre- paid meter are yet to be installed with the pre -paid meter. The implication of the lapses is still born by the consumers, as they are always compelled to pay a very high bill at the end of every month under precept of ‘Estimated billing system’.
The electricity consumers in the South East zone are bluntly refusing the EEDC proposal to scrap the ‘Stand alone’ meters since the pre -paid meters are not easily available even after paying for them. They see the EEDC policy as an illegality not minding that EEDC claims that it gave enough notice for the scrapping to the ‘Stand alone meters’
In a telephone chat with ‘THE AUTHORITY’ the President of Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture[ECCIMA],Pharmacist Sir Emeka Udeze, weighed the options and impacts of the new hike in tariff in the nation’s economy.
He stated,’ If there is going to be a commensurate improvement in power supply with hike in tariff, it is expected that the profit will cancel out the increase. But if there is no improvement in power supply across the country after the hike in tariff, it will have adverse effect on the economy’
Pharmacist Udeze stressed that the alternative in resolving the nation’s power problem is to allow independent power generating companies which will not be connected to national grid to spring up. He said that in every environment such power company is established, it will have the independent to negotiate and agree on terms of rendering services to the consumers, who equally can decide to pull out when not gaining satisfactory services from the independent power company.
The Chief Executive Officer of Leenway Ideas Ltd, Prince Nnamdi Anigbo, described the EEDC as being very exploitative on electric consumers in the South East zone. The reason according to him stems on the monopoly the company is enjoying as a private investment. But warned that high time, the government checkmate the excesses of EEDC.
Anigbo stated,’It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that it’s citizens are not exploited by organizations like MTN,EEDC etc, who are just out there to maximize profits.I was part of the ‘Ndigbo Forum’ that went to ask EEDC the reasons for their actions. We discovered that they are operating an illegality just to exploit the citizens’.
Still on EEDC unfriendly operations, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Friday January 10, protested against the intention of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to remove ‘stand alone’ meters and return them to estimated billing system.
The coalition, which is made up of CSO groups such as; Vibrant Youths Foundation, Heroine Women Foundation, Parent-Child Intervention Centre and Daniel Ukwu Leadership Foundation, conducted their protest peacefully through Okpara Avenue and Enugu-Abakaliki Roads..
The protesters stopped over at Radio Nigeria Station in Enugu and later made their way to EEDC Corporate Office, Enugu to press home their displeasure for the company’s anti-customers’ policy that took effect from Jan. 1, 2020.
Among inscription in their banners included; “EEDC, The People Need Clarification’’; “EEDC – Why Estimated Bill Again’’; “Tell us What to Tell Our people’’ and others.
The leader of the coalition, Mrs Onyinye Mamah, called on EEDC to tolw the line of best business practice instead of using jungle and crude business method to deal with its customers.
In a similar vein,a forum of journalists of South East origin operating under the name ‘IZUNWANNE’ with focus on economic development of the zone,have cautioned the EEDC to halt every attempt to remove ‘Stand alone’ meters from it’s consumers whereas the pre-paid meters option are not readily available.
In a press statement signed by Sir Abuch Anueyiagu[convener] and Elder Ngwuoke Ngwuoke[Secretary], titled,’No to EEDC Surreptitious tariff increase through removal of Stand alone meters in the South East zone’, the group stated,
‘That we note that with dismay that no effort seems to have been made so far to improve the facilities for electricity distribution in the zone since the privatization of public electricity distribution and supply’
However reaction from EEDC through it’s Head of Communications, EEDC, Mr Emeka Ezeh, said the company could no longer provide technological support for the standalone pre-paid meters; so customers on it should migrate to Meter Asset Provider (MAP) smart pre-paid meters.
Ezeh said that the company in collaboration with MAP meter providers had spread installment payment for smart pre-paid meters for 24 months for its standalone pre-paid meter customers.
According to him, there is no initial down payment needed for the smart pre-paid meter.
