Residents of Ekpan community in Warri, Delta State have decried the suddenly increase in electricity tariff for the past six months by the Benin Electricity DisCo (BEDC).
The residents who claimed they had complained to the company CSO without changes said the electricity company has paid no attention to their working visa to bill them.
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It was gathered that BEDC increased the tariff from N5000 to N21,000, and in some homes, N51,000 without explanation to how the amount was derived.
The residents who complained to NAIJA CENTER NEWS, said that some officials of the company collect N3,000 from them on a monthly basis for alleged reconnection fee which, according to them, never reflect in their bills or receipt.
A house owner in New Layout area off Jakpa road, Ekpan who didn’t want his name mentioned due to the complexity of the situation alleged that the CSO who they had complained to had earlier told them that the billing is general, and promised that it would be rectified in no time; but six months after, BEDC still charge them N51,000 monthly.
The resident said: “We have been over paying every month with NEPA always owing us because we didn’t want NEPA’s embarrassment, I mean, if they bill us N5000, we will go pay N5500 or so depending on what we are able to gather. We never paid less but for 6 months + now, they have been giving us N51,000 without using our meter readings to calculate. We have a working meter, their staff have confirmed that but I don’t know how and why they now placed us on direct billing automatically when our meter is Working perfectly.
“Warri people are very angry as the problem persist and their staff coming to embarrass people in their houses with the threat of cutting their light or pay N3000 for reconnection fee for the problem they created for all customers who have be paying.
“And the N3000 will not be deducted from the bill. The question is, how much is minimum wage and how long do they expect us to continue like this, this extortion. I don’t know if the federal government is aware, as BEDC have increased the tarriff again from 33.87 naira per unit to 34.90 naira per unit since January.
NAIJA CENTER could recall that in 2016, a Senator representing Bauchi North, Senator Suleiman Nazif moved a motion in Senate that led to the immediate reversal of the increase in electricity tariff.
Nazif argued that due process was not followed as stipulated in Section 76 of the Power Sector Reform Act 2005, and warned against arbitrary increase of the tariff.
He said, “The distribution companies have continued to exploit Nigerians by estimated billing system for the majority of consumers while deliberately refusing to make ore-paid meters available.”
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