BUSINESS13 Investigation Adeosun Electricity users pay more wants interest on ‘estimated’ billing rate cut ahead of MPC

Electricity consumers in the nation’s capital, Abuja, and its environs pay higher in bills under the estimated billing system compared with their counterparts using metres, the investigation reveals.

Daily Trust

Our reporter sampled the views of customers in the metered and unmetered categories around Abuja and its environs, with majority of them kicking against the estimated billing system.

Some of unmetered customers interviewed expressed their fear that their bills could skyrocket as the national grid rose to 4,000 megawatts (mw) at the weekend.

Unmetered customers were usually handed a paper called the ‘Estimated bill’ every month stating the amount they should pay.

This category of customers claimed that they used to pay more than what they had consumed, with some of them refusing to pay their bills.

Mr Sunday Bello, a resident of Mararaba area of Nasarawa State, a border town with Abuja, acquired a single-phase meter about 50 days after he paid through the Credited Advance Payment for Metering Initiative (CAPMI) to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

He said: “Prior to getting the meter, I used to pay about N7,500 monthly on the estimated billing method. Now, with meter, my electricity expenses dropped to N5,500 every month.”

Similarly, Mr the Okechukwu Amos of Kubwa, Abuja, said that with his three-phase meter, more consumption points and longer power supply hours, he only spent about N5,000 monthly.

“My neighbours who are waiting for AEDC to deploy meters are still battling with their bills of N10,000 to 14,000 per month,” he said. “I paid through CAPMI and got it after 60 days but I was made to pay for the transport fare and some other expenses incurred by the installer.”

After procuring seven meters for his block of flats at Mararaba, recently, Mr Falowo Olu said: “I enquired from AEDC and I was told to pay N25, 000 for the single-phase unit and N55,000 for the three-phase.

“I was told that the costs will be refunded to me in one to two years with 12 per cent interest. I waited for two months before the meters were installed.”

Another prepaid meter user, Mr Andrew Okoh, in Karu, near Abuja city, said that he was happy because he could now regulate his level of consumption.

Okoh said: “I have used prepaid meter for a year now and I do energy conservation. When I am using the fridge, I turn off other appliances to save cost. I can now account for my energy consumption pattern.

“Comparing last year with 2016, I could say I have saved over N60,000 using the meter. I was paying about N9,000 as estimated bill before, but now I spend N3,000 on average per month.”

As the complaints of overbilling raged, the AEDC recently said that it was aware of cases of unfair billing. Engr. Ernest Mupwaya, the firm’s managing director, said that the AEDC would address the issue of high billing, adding that the firm would instal new transformers.

On the best way to address the issue, Kunle Olubiyo, a power sector advocate, suggested massive deployment of household meters.

Olubiyo, speaking yesterday, said that provision of meters would solve some challenges in the nation’s power sector.

“Meters will encourage consumers to use less of electricity,” he said.

“Most firms pledged to deploy 100,000 meters annually but they do not, government needs to watch them.” FLIGHT

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