Residents of rural areas in Benue State have expressed discontentment with the Jos Electricity Distribution (JED) Plc over what they described as inappropriate charges of their electricity consumption, which is determined through estimated billings.
Rural electricity consumers across the three senatorial districts of the state have argued that instead of charging them through the postpaid or prepaid metering system, the Distribution Company (DisCo) often rely on estimated billing system to determine their energy consumption on monthly basis, which they say does not give them value for their money because they are always overbilled.
Further findings showed that a significant number of consumers appear to take advantage of the non-availability of meters to commit energy theft, with the alleged connivance and supervision of some JED officials.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) recently directed that all new electricity connections must be done strictly based on metering before connection, meaning that no new customer should be connected by a DisCo without a meter first being installed at the premises. But this is not the case with the rural communities Daily Trust visited.
Also, customers have a right to a properly installed and functional meter just as all un-metered customers should be issued with electricity bills strictly based on NERC’s estimated billing methodology.
Most residents of Obotu, Ogoli and many other rural communities in Benue South Senatorial Zone are predominantly farmers with low income rate. Some of them want their electricity supply services suspended because they cannot continue to maintain what they referred to as extremely high charges.
In Obotu-Ugboju community in Otukpo Local Government Area, there wasn’t a single meter in all the compounds (large or small) visited yet they are allegedly made to pay a flat rate of N1500 monthly. The bills are collected at the end of each month by someone appointed by the community and handed over to the JED officials on their arrival.
At Eja Aba’s compound, Mrs. Margaret Eja said her son pays N1500 monthly as estimated bill for the electricity which the family hardly consumes due to irregular supply.
“Just look around and you will see that I use light to power only my television, fan and bulbs yet they bring me a bill of N1500. I think the bill is high for a remote village like ours; what do I do to generate such income to pay for the charges if not for my son who picks the bill?” She asked. Eja was, however, ignorant about metering and had never requested for one either.
Alechenu Abah, who had electricity stepped down directly to his compound, claimed to be paying same N1500 monthly as estimated bill even as he stressed that he needed the energy to only power his fridge and bulbs.
Abah, a retired police personnel, who returned to his Obotu community in 2015, worried that his house has remained unmetered despite severally requests to be metered.
The story is not different in Ogoli-Ugboju community where the houses are not metered but consumers still pay N1500 per compound.
A resident, Agbo Abah, said they have demanded for meters but officials of JED told them it would cost between N18,000 and N20,000 just as they were also told that their current estimated bill was a normal tariff charge.
“I believe that if we are metered, the charges would reduce drastically. We haven’t heard of NERC before now to channel our grievances which are unattended to by JED,” he said.
Electricity consumers in Ihugh rural community in Vandeikya LGA of the state now prefer alternative energy sources following alleged arbitrary charges which are not commensurate to power supplied or consumed.
A resident, Pilakyaa Awua, said it has been over two years since he requested to be disconnected from JED because he now prefers to use what they refer to in the local parlance as “after NEPA (a power source made from dry cells and fitted with small voltage electric bulbs).”
Awua said he severally asked for meter, alongside other residents, but their requests were never granted for reasons unknown to them.
“I told my landlord to disconnect me because I don’t know why I am paying such high amount. There were times we didn’t even have light for days, yet, compelled to pay huge bills at the end of the month,” he said.
Veronica Atule, a housewife and farmer, disclosed that her home was formerly installed with an electric meter she purchased for N17,000 from JED but later disconnected by same officials whom she accused of tampering with the device. Before the disconnection of the meter, Atule said the charges were moderate as specified by the device.
“They (JED) came and disconnected the meter, and then started giving me bills in thousands. I am pained that I’m paying so much,” she complained.
She reported the matter to the electricity officials but nothing has been done to correct the abnormality, instead, the JED staff would completely disconnect her from the power source when her payments were not made on time.
Gaavde Ternenge, who owns a barber’s shop installed with a prepaid meter, says he cannot use the device anymore because the charges are too much for his meagre income so he now prefers estimated billing system.
“I was paying thrice on prepaid meter when compared to the postpaid meter. I used to buy N4,000 worth of units and it would be exhausted in three days. The last time I bought the units, I couldn’t load it and since then, I resorted to direct usage without meter,” he said.
At Akerior community in Ushongo LGA, energy consumers alleged that that JED has never made any effort to install meters for customers since electricity was commissioned in the rural settlement nine years ago.
At Ameladu community in Gboko LGA, the Wankar Ameladu compound has the old meter installed but they are billed by estimation. Wankar Gbaden lamented that the family has an old meter but JED does not rely on the device for billing, instead they simply dish out arbitrary charges, adding that, like others in the community, they have requested for new meters nearly two years now yet nothing has been done about it.
At Mkovur village, it was the same story. Daily Trust Saturday observed that no one in the village has a prepaid meter. The villagers claimed that a service station in the community once installed the prepaid meter but had to disconnect it as officials of JED frowned at the idea.
In all the areas visited, there were complaints about outrageous electricity charges in the face of epileptic supply. Apart from one respondent in Ihugh who prefers the estimated billing, all the other rural dwellers want to be installed with prepaid meters.
When contacted, the Jos DisCo acting Regional Manager in Benue State, Joseph Kwaghgba, said the DisCo does not discriminate in metering rural communities. However, he said JED Plc gets allocation for meters according to how they are zoned in the state, citing that Benue is shared into three zones of Makurdi, Gboko and Otukpo.
He noted that plans to meter all customers no matter their locations were underway in phases, while expressing concerns however that some consumers put up all kinds of resistance against the prepaid meters in order to opt for estimated billing for reasons JED cannot explain.
Kwaghgba said the federal government’s policy on Meter Asset Providers (MAP) will help the DisCo as customers would no longer evade payment with prepaid meters.
On the flat rate billing complaint from the customers, the JED Plc regional head said it was not wholly the idea of the DisCo. He explained that some communities operate electricity committee such that the billing systems in the area are sometimes determined by what they (committees) discuss during their meetings.
