BY ABAH ADAH, Abuja
Network for Electricity Consum- ers Advocacy of Nigeria (NECAN) has said many electricity consumers metered by the power distribution companies (DisCos) are still on estimated billing plan, expressing concern that
a large number of electricity consumers are yet to be metered even with the ongoing National Mass Metering programme of the federal government.
In a telephone chat with LEADERSHIP, NECAN’s national secretary and leading consultant on electricity matters Uket Obanga said the entire metering process and figures being fed to the public in terms of meters supplied and installed in recent times are questionable.
“The metering itself has a question mark on it. If you go to some DisCos, particularly in the South-South and South-West, majority of the so-called metered customers are on these old analogue NEPA meters which are not functional.
“Take a state like Cross Rivers for instance, our findings showed that out of the 18 LGAS, about 15 have not seen a pre- paid meter. In most of the places where they claimed to have metered; the people are on the dysfunctional analogue device that are not being read by anybody, meaning those customers are still on estimated billing; same thing in Delta and some few other states.
“So when talking about the population already metered and you are including these ones with dysfunctional analogue meters, then it can’t be correct because they are still on estimated billing,” he said.
But spokesperson of the DisCos told LEADERSHIP that there was no iota of truth in any of the allegations because the DisCos never counted those who had the old analogue meters, most of which have been in use for about 10 years and beyond, among those that have been metered anywhere in the country.
“The DisCos each has a record of such people who have analogue meters and count them as customers without meters and that is why they are on estimated billing pending when they would be given the smart meters. So when you hear that this population of customers have been metered in a particular place; it is those who have prepaid meters installed for them,” he said.
According to him, the ongoing Mass metering is an initiative of the federal government, and the DisCos would be shortchanging themselves by allowing those on analogue to continue paying estimated bills, claiming they have metered them, so such allegations are unfounded.
