Customers Accuse FG of Neglect and Deceit as High Electricity Tariff Bites

Electricity Bill Blues

The Federal Government was accused of neglect and deception by Electricity Customers following its failure to uphold its promise to protect Nigerians from paying increased electricity tariff following a tariff review.

The customers expressed their disappointment at a customer consultative council meeting yesterday, the meeting, which was held in Karu Business Unit in Abuja, was attended by Electricity customers from all over Abuja metropolis.
The customers noted that when the tariff was increased in June 2012, the FG promised that the urban poor would not feel the effect of the increments.

Different customers, who spoke at the meeting, called to mind that they watched the Chairman of the Nigerian electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, at different occasions explaining and promising that the rural poor would not witness increased tariff.

“That was why we totally welcomed the idea of the new tariff, but the situation on ground now is different from what we were told. We now pay higher to recharge our meters, and when we go to buy units, they will first deduct fixed charge before giving us a small unit with the remaining money.”

“We the poor people thought it would favour us, but it is not so. Imagine telling our children to switch off all the lights and minimise usage of power so that the meter units can last. And after managing the N2000 units for about three months and you go back to buy another, they will deduct N1,500 as charges for the months you didn’t buy and give you N500 worth of units,’’ a customer stated.

The customers also complained about reluctance of PHCN officials to provide willing customers prepaid meters, the careless attitude of PHCN officials to fix spoilt transformers and other equipment as well as illegalities in the disconnection and reconnection of customers in the Unit.

Reacting,  the PHCN Karu Business Manager, Engr. Nuhu Musani, promised that all matters raised will be looked into, apologised to communities that have being without power supply due to bad transformers, promising that the Unit was already working on replacing spoilt transformers.
He however, blamed the government for the time it takes the PHCN to replace vandalised equipment, saying the government does not have budget for replacement of vandalised equipment.
BusinessNews