Consumers accuse electricity companies of sharp practices

Electricity consumers under the aegis of Nigeria Electricity consumers Advocacy Network, has accused electricity Distribution Companies of sharp practices, especially in the area  improper billing of consumers.

Reacting to report on the performance of DisCos where power distribution companies posted a 21 per cent increase in their billing collection efficiency in 2018, Chairman of NECAN, Tomi Akingbogun, said government should not yield to the call by the Discos for an increase in tariff, saying the firms had not performed creditably.

He said, “This is why we are saying that the government should not at any time increase tariff until when they (Discos) have released all the meters to all the consumers and enumeration done. However, we still believe that they (Discos) are still involved in sharp practices where they do improper billing.

“By this, I mean that they look at a building and just fix a tariff on it without justification and that can also increase their tariff collection because we’ve realised that they are given targets by their managers, area managers and others.”

Akingbogun added, “Many times, you see a situation where they start with N4,000 as a bill to a customer and before you know it, the rate rises to N45,000.

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“This is not really an efficient way of collecting tariff, for while they believe they are collecting enough tariff, that is an illegal way of collecting tariff. So, we are having a lot of that to deal with.”

The NECAN chairman, however, noted that the release of meters to customers by Discos or Meter Asset Providers would boost the ability of power firms to collect electricity bills.

He urged the firms to deploy more meters as directed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, adding that a lot of customers across the country were still without meters.

Akingbogun said, “Meters should be released. When they release meters, their collection efficiency will increase more because a lot of their money being collected by their workers are not remitted to their accounts.”