Lagosians Sigh Over Huge Electricity Tariff, Estimated Bills

Residents of Lagos State, who are yet to have the prepaid electricity meter are groaning under the weight of severe price hike.

These electricity consumers expressed their grievance over the recent hike in electricity tariff coupled with estimated billings.

Over the years, Nigerians have expressed dissatisfaction over the irregularity in power supply as compared with the amount they are billed for same at the end of each month.

The introduction of pre-paid meters in 2006 by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was supposed to be a sort of relief from the usual meter reading and estimated electricity billings. But 15 years later, there is still a wide metering gap and unmetered customers continue to complain about the unfairness of estimated electricity bills.

These complaints have not stopped the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Authority(NERC) from increasing the tariff. One of the recent increase in electricity tariff took effect in September 2020 and it has fueled reactions of frustration from electricity consumers battling with the current state of the economy.

Unmetered customers in Lagos have to pay through their noses to enjoy power supply, albeit irregular, and at a higher price that is not commensurate with the unit of power consumed in kWh.

NERC has once again announced a proposed increase in electricity tariff which is to take effect in June 2021, making it the 5th time electricity tariff will be increased since 2015.

In a survey conducted by AllNews in Lagos State, 100 per cent of the participant expressed dissatisfaction with the power situation in the state when compared with the bills they get/

Below is a Twitter user's response to the prevailing electricity tariff when asked how people are coping with the irregular supply and the increased bill.

In an interview with AllNews, a resident of Oke-Odo, Pleasure Bus-Stop, Lagos, Mr Omotayo Owootomo, gave an account of his estimated billing experience. He said:

"Last year, my electricity bill was mostly within the range of N12,000 per month for my 2 bedroom flat. This year, it was increased to N25,000 monthly.

"Now, this month, I received a bill of N30,000 for power consumption (kWh) of 704.

"It is too high. We only get an average of eight hours of power supply a day and there are days of total blackout"

When asked if he intends to pay the current bill, he answered in the negative and added that he would rather write the distribution company to disconnect his flat from the grid.

Mr Leonard Chukwuka, who resides at Iyana Ipaja, Lagos gave his account of how unpredictable the electricity billings have been in the last few months.

According to him, he lives in a three-bedroom flat with an analogue meter. The previous bills were between the range of N2000 to N3000 a month according to the readings from the meter.

"Sometime last year, the tariff charges increased and so did the bill. We were billed N5000 and some months after that, it was increased again.

"Since then, I started receiving an estimated bill of N27,000 a month.

"I visited an Ikeja Electric Distribution Office at Alagutan in Alimosh Local Government and met with the marketing manager. At first, he explained that the amount received was what was recorded from my meter.

"When I showed him the last reading from my meter and the text I got, he became confused and advised me to get a prepaid meter," Chukwuka said.

According to Chukwuka, the manager said that the only way he would stop getting the estimated bills is to apply for a prepaid meter.

"I applied for a prepaid meter in October 2020 and yet to get one. 

"I had to let them disconnect my power supply after getting the same bills despite my complaint," he said.

Mr Abodunrin Amoo who resides in Command, Ipaja, shared his prepaid meter application experience with Allnews.

"Initially we had just one prepaid meter brought for four different flats. We were advised by the officials of Ikeja Electric to consider a separate account for the three other flats.

"With the separation of account, we were assured we will get our pre-paid meters separately. On getting to the IKEDC office at Ipaja, we were billed N9000 (N3000 per person).”

Mr. Amoo stated that they were informed subsequently, that the accounts have been successfully created and each account holder is required to pay N2000 each to apply for their pre-paid meters.

Earlier this year, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) had urged its unmetered customers to take advantage of the ongoing National Mass Metering Program to apply for free prepaid meters. Mr. Godwin Idemudia, General Manager of Corporate Communications, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) in a press statement urged its unmetered customers to register for free prepaid meters under the ongoing National Mass Metering Program (NMMP).

Mrs. Oluwatoyin Siddiqu, a petty trader who lives in Alakuko, Lagos said that she was once a victim of estimated billings before the prepaid meter at her residence was eventually delivered and installed in May 2021.

Siddiqu said she had to use an internal connection to secure a meter after several months of waiting.

When asked about her experience with the prepaid meter, she said:

"I expected to pay a lot less on electricity now that I have a prepaid meter. It is not the case.

"Electricity tariff is higher than it was before.

"But at least I am paying for the exact power I consume.

A marketing officer with the Alagutan Branch of Ikeja Electric who pleaded to be anonymous revealed that he has a target to remit a certain amount of money to the distribution company and that can only be achieved by sharing the target sum between those who still use the analogue meter and other unmetered customers.

Head of Corporate Communications for Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC), Mr Felix Ofulue in an interview with AllNews about the new tariff regime from September last year and complaint about estimated billings said:

"The new electricity tariff is called Service-Based Tariff and customers have now been categorized into five bands ( A-E ) based on the hours of supply they get daily and that is also the basis for the billing.

"The higher your supply, the higher your tariff. It is important to point out that customers on B and D & E (below 12 hours) are not impacted by the new tariffs.

"You can visit NERC’s website to get more information on the tariff for all the Discos."

According to Ofulue, the tariff which is service reflective, are end-user rates to be paid for electricity based on the level of service (including availability and reliability) provided to a cluster of customers.

"This is in line with our Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) that the Discos deliberated upon with the Regulator (NERC)," he said.
In the survey conducted by AllNews, it was gathered that about 55.6% of Lagosians who participated do not have a prepaid meter. 
Mr. Ofulue when asked about the NMMP, stated that the program is actively ongoing in the Ikeja Electric network.

"We received 106,701 meters from the Federal Government for the first phase (Phase 0) and all the meters have been allocated to customers and installation of these meters is moving at a rapid pace," he said.

Earlier last year, an increase in the electricity tariff was slated to take effect on July 1. It was halted by the intervention of the National Assembly, which urged the distribution companies to extend the date to the first quarter of 2021 due to the economic challenges in the country. 

Sadly, the country's economy is yet to recover and Nigerians are still dealing with hard times.

The proposed increment slated for June this year received the attention of the National Assembly. The House of Representatives at a plenary session on May 20, 2021, asked the NERC to suspend the plan to review the electricity tariff in June citing the hardship the masses are facing as a reason for the suspension.

The House of Representatives urged the Federal Government to direct NERC to rescind the decision to further increase the electricity tariff as proposed. It also condemned the electricity distribution companies for transferring debts incurred by former occupants of buildings to the new occupants or tenants and ordered an investigation into the same.

Despite the efforts and activities of the power supply authorities, the future appears to remain bleak and the consumers’ groaning could continue without hope for respite in the nearest future. Power supply remains irregular, but the electricity company remains a business with the aim of making a profit. Consumers want to pay only for the value they get. Yet many of them, especially those yet to be metered are convinced they are being short-changed. The metering process, despite being announced to be free, is still filled with a number of roadblocks while the economy continues to work against the tides of the people.