PREPARED METERS AND ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION

Permit me to use your medium to address recent concern raised by some customers that indigenous smart prepaid meters are programmed and installed to run electricity card fast. It was alleged in the reports that many of these meters gobbled up a lot of electricity units even when the amount paid was expected to last for a certain period of time. Without doubt, I am compelled to disagree totally with the allegation expressed by the so-called disenchanted customers because there is no iota of truth in it.

As a matter of fact, I have found out that many domestic assistants are indeed responsible for sharp practices, which more often than not, are placed at the doorstep of Mojec International Limited or distribution companies. There is also the worrisome case of sales representative of certain designated outlets manipulating the point of sales terminal to the disadvantage of hapless customers who pay certain amount of money to recharge their card and end up getting less value at the end. It is instructive to state that these concerns are not new to DISCOs and Mojec as there has been similar complaints raised by other customers in the past.

Based on my findings, I can authoritatively say that many of these domestic assistants and sales representatives are already neck deep in the act of swindling their bosses and customers. A case in point is a domestic assisstant who was asked by his boss to pay N20, 000 to recharge his electricity only to find out that she paid N1,000. According to my investigation, the same staff has been perpetrating this criminal act for the last six months without the knowledge of the boss. The secret became exposed when the boss got fed up with the frequency of payment and thereafter asked that the DISCO provides a backlog of payment made by the domestic assistant.

No doubt, this criminal act brings to mind the reality that corruption cannot be associated with leaders or government alone but also those at the lower cadre in offices and households. Not only that, it has shown that customers can be victims of corrupt practices through those who are close to them. Therefore, as customers, we must remain vigilant to prevent our domestic staff from swindling us of our hard earned resources.

Besides, it is important to note that customers need to manage their electricity consumption to guide against any wastage. Often times, many Nigerians are fond of switching on power when it is not needed or necessary. This alone, could lead to consumption running fast particularly with the new tariff regime introduced by DISCOs. I advise that electricity consumers take note by ensuring that they keep an eye on their consumption to prevent indiscriminate wastage.

I appeal that, as consumers, we monitor our domestic staff and ensure due diligence each time they are asked to pay for electricity bills. Olamide Bakare, Ogba, Lagos