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Residents of Maiduguri, Borno state capital, are irked by the
recent uninterrupted electricity supply which has caused astronomical
increase in charges.
Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) came under attack by
residents who see the 24 hours electricity supply as waste and digging
holes in their pockets.
The constant power supply, according to the residents, had caused what they described as “outrageous billings.’’
Mr. Ibrahim Suleiman, a resident who lives in Bolori Layout, appealed to the YEDC to reduce supply of electricity.
“YEDC should go back to the former supply system where electricity
was supplied for 12 hours and not 24 hours recently being enjoyed.
Suleiman described the stable power supply as a “wastage” because many consumers cannot use electricity during working hours.
“I work from 7 p.m. to 4 p.m. So I do not need any electricity
until I get home. But in this case, whether you consume power or not,
you will be billed to pay for it. I think this is not fair,” he said. Residents told newsmen on Tuesday that the incurring high bills was worrisome.
They said that it was not in the interest of the masses, because it
has hindered economic activities and social life of the people.
They also alleged that YEDC jacked up their electricity bills by
over 100 per cent for commercial and residential areas sequel to
appreciable improvement in power supply in the metropolis. Mr Esther
Chukwuma, one of the consumers, described the new billing adopted by the
power distribution companies as frustrating and lamentable.
“My bill indicated that I used 605 units in November and they
charged N14, 000 as against N6, 500 for September where I used the same
units.
“They are charging me for what I did not consume because during
the day, I spend most of my time in my shop. I only use the electricity
at night at home.
“I have a prepaid metre in the shop and I don’t spend more than N2, 000 in a whole month.
“So how come I am not staying at home and i am being asked to pay N14, 000.
“I am here in their office, demanding an explanation,” she said.
Also speaking, Mrs Fatima Musa, a widow, said: “I was given a bill of N15, 000 monthly instead of the N5,000 I used to get monthly.
“I strongly disagree with this outrageous charges given without
any explanation.” She said that electricity consumers were at the
receiving end especially those without prepaid metres, noting that the
billing process was “opaque and lacks transparency.”
Malam Abdullahi Bako, who lives in Gwange, said “how can YEDC be bringing between N9, 000 and N15, 000 to a room apartment in a month?”
“We are being forced to pay for electricity we never consumed;
this is extortion, we demand for transparency in the billing
methodology,”
Bako said. Responding, Alhaji Usman Wakta, the YEDC Maiduguri
Business Manager, said the company does not bill its customers
arbitrarily.
“These complaints may be as a result of the commissioning of
the 330kV transmission line which now supplies electricity 24 hours. He
said that before the commissioning of the new line, the stations relied
on the 132KV controlled from Biu, which can only supply for a period of
ten to twelve hours per day.
“On the average, we now supply electricity in the town for a
minimum of 22 hours in a day which simply implies that the consumption
of energy by residents in the state have multiplied or even tripled
itself.
“We took a simple study from our prepaid metres users and we
found out that the people that usually came to buy unit of N2000 or
N3000 in a month now have to spend N15, 000 or N20, 000 because of their
energy usage.
“One thing we notice about the consumers is that they waste
energy. People have this habit of leaving their lights on even in the
afternoon.
“Go to some super markets or filling stations, you will see
more than 200 bulbs on in the afternoon. So the more you load you use
the more energy you consume.
On the allegation of exorbitant billing of consumers without meter, Wakta said : ”We go to people’s home to do load assessment based on the gadgets they have in the house and bill them accordingly.“