Group to Sue EKDC over Outrageous Bills

Martins Ifijeh

Residents Association of Pearl Nuga Park Estate in Sangotedo, Lagos, has threatened to sue the Eko Distribution Company (EKDC) over the refusal to provide prepaid meters and the outrageous estimated billings being forced on the estate monthly. They said efforts to obtain prepaid meters were thwarted by top officials of the EKDC who rather forced on the estate, the MD Meter option, which it even failed to read by end of every month.

Stating this in a petition to the Managing Director, EKDC, Marina, and signed by the estate’s legal counsel, Oghenevweta Ojakovo, the association said despite the installation of the MD Meters, officials of the electricity company have continued to issue outrageous estimated billings to the estate.

It said: ‘’The modus operandi of these EKDC officials is that on or before the end of each month, they will issue the estimated billings and then cut off the electricity of the estate to arm twist them to pay in clear violation of Regulation 5 and 9 of the Nigerian Electricity Regulation and Disconnection Procedures for Electricity Services 2007 and the Regulation 1 of the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission’s Meter Reading Billing, Cash Collections and Credit Management for Electricity Suppliers Regulation 2017.

“The disconnection of electricity supply to the estate more than six times in the last nine months, and the extortion of payment from the residents are contrary to Section 406 of the Criminal Code Act,” the association said.

It added that the estimated billing brought by the EKDC officials for the estate in the last seven months read: December 2017 – N664,787; January – N790,000; February – N782,565; March – N669,465; April – N803,345; May – N803,880; and June – N803,880.

It explained that despite bringing to the attention of the MD through a letter, the complaints and the decision of the estate to install a parallel MD Meter to validate the monthly reading by EKDC, he has refused to respond to their concerns.