Electricity firms links metering challenges to forex crises
By Roseline Okere and DayoAkinboro
More than three years after they took over operations of the power
sector, the distribution companies (Discos), handling retail
distribution and marketing of electricity in Nigeria, have not been able
to effectively tackle the issue of metering, thereby leaving millions
of their consumers at the mercy of estimated billings.
When the nation’s power sector was privatised, many Nigerians had
hoped that things would get better, especially with regard to improving
power supply and quality of services provided.
But, both the Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (DISCO) and Eko
Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) who lament the high cost of
foreign exchange, insisted that they are trying their best to ensure
every customers within their networks are metered.
Consumers had expected that upon the takeover by the new owners,
metering would be one of the issues that will be urgently addressed to
restore confidence in the billing system, as this is the only way to
determine actual consumption of energy.
The Discos have a five-year agreement post-privatisation agreement
with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to meter
their customers. But three years down the line, the Discos seem to be in
no hurry to fulfil their part of this agreement, preferring to hound
customers with jaw-dropping estimated bills.
For this and many more reasons, some consumers including individuals
and corporates prefer to provide electricity for themselves.Dammy
Okegbami, a shipping consultant in Apapa, told The Guardian he has never
used the public power in the four years he has been running his office,
but relied on his generating sets.
He explained: “when I got to this complex four years ago all the
occupants of this complex run their various businesses with power
generators. Of course Eko Electricity Distribution Company brought us
estimated billing that was very outrageous and very difficult for us to
pay, so we all decided not to pay them and we were cut off.
“I applied for a pre-paid meter long time ago, the answer I got was
that meter was not available. I spend N13,500 monthly to fuel my
generator, which does not include the money I spend on the maintenance
of the generator. If I had been properly metered I may not be paying
this much, but still cheaper than the estimated bill,” he said.
Tunde Ibrahim, a residence of Ilasamaja, a Lagos suburb, told The
Guardian he is being frustrated by the high estimated billing he has
been subjected to for over two years.
He said he had complained many times to the Ikeja Electric, the
distribution company about his ordeal but nothing has been done to
relieve him of the burden.
According to him, “I live in a room and parlour and I usually paid
less than N2,000 a per month before the prepaid meter I was using with
my landlord got spoilt about two years ago. Since the meter got spoilt,
we have been placed on estimated billing, the amount they bring keep
increasing every month.
“There was a time we complained and they promised to do something
about it, although the subsequent bill they brought after the complain
was moderate, but the bill that they brought after that one went up
again, so we do not know what exactly is wrong with this people,” he
lamented.
A consumer, Blessing Okafor, who lives in Itire, another Lagos
suburb, said while she is billed between N3,900 and N4,900 monthly for
her one room self-contained apartment, her next door neighbour, who is
on prepaid metering spends N2,000 monthly, even with more electrical
appliances.
Okafor said although she has applied for a prepaid meter since 2013,
she is yet to have one installed, as Ikeja Electric insists the meters
are not available.
More frustrating, she said, is the fact that switches off all her
appliances, when she went to work daily, but and her neighbour’s wife,
who is mostly at home with her children and use more power end up paying
less, while she paid more.
Another consumer, Mrs Tayo Odutola, complained that she went from
paying N2,000 to N7,000/month after her prepaid meter got spoilt in
2014, and she was placed on estimated billing.
She said she has complained to Eko Disco about her ordeal and she was
told to disregard what is on the bill and pay at least N3,000 monthly,
to avoid being disconnected.
Speaking on the company’s efforts to meter every customer in its
network, the Chief Executive Officer Oladele Amoda, said the devaluation
of the Naira compared to the dollar has partly contributed to
inadequate meters within the Eko Disco’s network.
But he said the Disco had signed an agreement with Mojek
International, an indigenous smart meter manufacturing company, for the
supply of over 100,000 meters in December.“We also signed another
agreement with Huawei Technologies Company Limited, an international
company based in this country, to supply the remaining 100,000 pre-paid
meters.
“We have started metering consumers under our network with these
meters. It is our responsibility to meter all consumers and we are
looking at being able to deploy the 200,000 meters before the year runs
out. The motive is to eliminate estimation of consumers billing by
2017,” he said.
Amoda said the company had been on a metering programme since 2015,
and would have metered all its customers, but for some challenges
confronting successful implementation of the scheme.
He listed inflation and increase in foreign exchange rate as challenges
the company had to contend with.Also speaking with The Guardian
yesterday, spokesman for Ikeja Electric Plc, Felix Ofulue, believed that
the scarcity of dollars has increased the price of installing meters in
the country.
He claimed the Disco had metered 90 per cent of its customers in the
zone, to make the electricity billing based only on energy consumed.
He said the company is doing its best to ensure all its customers are
metered, adding that “Recently, the estimated billings of consumers are
coming down because more consumers are now under the company’s
database.”
Ofulue however noted that: “The reason why it seems many costumers
are yet to be metered is because there are a lot of developing areas
under our network, which are yet to be reached; it is a gradual thing.
We are not going to reach everybody the same day, but will definitely do
our best.”
Culled from The Guardian Nigeria
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