Some electricity consumers across the country, on Thursday, claimed that the electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) were not adhering to the terms of the new tariff regime they were implementing.
The customers, in an engagement with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on its official Twitter account, described the new tarriff being implemented by the DisCos as exploitative.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the DisCos had announced the implementation of the new Service Reflective Tariff Plan (SRT) across their franchise areas from Sept. 1.
The DisCos said the classes of customers had been categorised into five bands, with bands D and E not enjoying 12 hours of power supply, and not affected by the new tariff plan.
However, in their tweets, the customers said the categorisation was shrouded in secrecy while power supply since the increment began dropped drastically.
They also urged the DisCos to identify specific areas with their bands and send text messages to customers within those areas in order to stop the exploitation.
According to them, the real outrage will be felt when the huge number of unmetered customers receive their bills for September, because the DisCos had failed to implement the capping on estimated bill.
A customer, who simply identified himself as Captain, shared the electricity supply report for Sept. 8 under Ikeja Electric network, claiming that a total of six hours and thirty six minutes was supplied for the day.
“This is from the DisCo that increased my tariff from N24 to N56/unit on the basis of 16 hours a day supply of electricity,’’ he tweeted.
Bola, another customer, described the new electricity tariff hike as “nothing but pure wickedness’’.
“Over 100 per cent hike? I just bought Kilowatt I used to buy for N2, 000 for over N5, 000.
“There is load shedding in my area (two days on and one day off) and there is no guarantee of 15 hours at the two days on,’’ “she tweeted.
Also, Mr Olumide Adeniyi, said it was difficult to understand the operations of the DisCos.
He said in a tweet, “Before the introduction of the new tariff, power supply in my area was about 18 hours in a day.
“At present, we barely have it for four hours and the tariff has gone up. Ridiculous!!!”
Similarly, Mr Ibrahim Bawa, under the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, said the tariff had been reviewed but the supply has not been improved.
“I currently pay more than N50/Kwh but get less than 10 hours. If DisCos cannot provide up to 12 hours then revert to old rates,’’ he said.
For Mr Ajiji Ishaya, a customer under the Jos Electricity Distribution Company, the situation remains the same.
He tweeted, “The day the tariff started on Sept. 1, we suddenly had uninterrupted power supply for like three to four days which I thought was real.
“And then @josdisco confirmed my fears, things came back to normal in the last few days. We even completed 24 hours without light yesterday.’’
Responding, NERC thanked the customers for sharing their experiences, adding that it had communicated the complaints to all DisCos.
“We expect that you will see details shared with the public soon,’’ the regulatory agency said. (NAN)
