Consumers have threatened not to pay their electricity bills if the Distribution Companies fail to provide prepaid meters for all and sundry.
They decried the inability of the DISCOs to issue customers with the meters, which they said was expected to boost efficient metering in the country and close the gap created by the old metering system.
This came on the heels of a disclosure that the DISCOs have suspended the Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation initiated by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The PUNCH had reported that the DISCOs were most likely going to dump the CAPMI scheme and opt for their own metering programme.
Miffed by this development, consumers have demanded an efficient metering system to protect themselves from paying for services not provided by the utility companies.
A consumer, who identified himself as Omotola Araujo, said, “How can you estimate what you cannot measure? Estimates are done when it is impossible to read meters due to weather conditions. No prepaid meters, no payment!”
A resident of Egbeda-Idimu area of Lagos, Mr. John Adegbola, said, “I quite agree with this. Nigerians are fed up with the PHCN people billing consumers without getting meter readings. Providing prepaid meters will help to reduce estimated billing. It will even help the regulatory body to perform better.
“It is appalling that these people still serve bills in areas where they have not got power supply for a whole month. We even have people who have paid for these prepaid meters for months or even a year now and haven’t received them.”
Another consumer, who identified himself as Mr. Femi Bosun, said, “Whether the DISCOs like it or not, the prepaid meter scheme must work. We consumers of electricity will not pay for what we did not consume; so, all complaints about estimated billing must stop, and the prepaid meter scheme must survive.”
Bosun explained that if the power requirement of the over 600,000 customers under the Ikeja DISCO has been put at 900Megawatts and the DISCO is getting only 300MW from the Transmission Company of Nigeria, customers would likely be made to pay for the 600MW through estimated billing.
“With the prepaid metering, however, customers will only pay for the 300MW used, instead of 900MW that will come through estimated billing of which 600MW was not supplied. Yet consumers will be forced to pay for what was not even supplied. There is no going back on prepaid meter.
“All well-meaning Nigerians must resist any attempt by any of the distribution companies not to implement the prepaid meter scheme. Obviously, because of the wide gap in supplies, they will all attempt to continue with the old fraudulent regime of collecting money for services not rendered through outrageous billings,” Bosun said.
Mr. Julius Onwulekwe, a resident of Agbara, decried the impact of estimated billing on his finances, saying, “Power supply to Agbara area became worse with the takeover by the private operators this November 2013. Not only is there no power, ‘crazy billing’ has got much worse and annoying.
“You don’t get power supply so your consumption should decrease, but in my case, PHCN increased my estimated consumption on a single phase in the November bill. The DISCOs must show that there will be a change by sanitising their operations to enthrone justice and fairness. So far, their performance is still woeful.”
Though analysts have joined the BPE to re-echo that there won’t be any quick fix to power shortage in the country, Nigerians seem to be unsatisfied with the explanation.
In view of this, the Chief Executive Officer, PRM Africa, Mr. Mike Dada, advised the DISCOs to build customer confidence through effective communications and deliver on all their promises.
He said, “The Nigerian consumers have been betrayed several times and that level of mutual confidence expected from consumers is not there. As such, they find it difficult to trust any scheme, programme, policy and what have you initiated by the government and their associates like the new power investors.
“Nigerians have been paying for the power they never consumed over the years. However, they have been promised that things will improve and they want to begin to see the signs that things are changing. The DISCOs must build consumer confidence and ensure that they deliver on all their promises.”
The NERC Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, told our correspondent on Tuesday that CAPMI would continue to operate even if the DISCOs decided to initiate their own metering programme.
Amadi said, “CAPMI operates until a DISCO starts implementing its own metering plan. CAPMI operates until a DISCO provides a better plan. NERC is an effective regulator. Our plan is to increase our effectiveness and smartness. We will encourage where necessary and sanction when needed. We will bark and bite and also speak softly when necessary. Our focus is to protect the public interest and not grandstand.”
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