Some residents of Awka, the Anambra State capital have described the installations of post-paid meters by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, as another way of defrauding and extorting the public.
Reacting to the continuous distribution of free post-paid meters instead of the pre-paid meters by the EEDC under the Federal Government National metering program, some consumers who spoke to AIT called for urgent intervention of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC.
The Federal Government of Nigeria had in 2020 launched the National Mass Metering Programme, NMMP aimed at addressing complaints of arbitrary estimated electricity billings on consumers, with the target of distributing 30 million meters to underserved communities
The first phase of this program was to cover at least 6 million customers within the first eighteen months, but months into the exercise, some residents of Anambra State are lamenting the high rate of billing as a result of post paid meters being installed by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC.
Describing it as another means of extorting as well as defrauding the public, the respondents want the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC to intervene.
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The EEDC through her spokesman, Emeka Eze is justifying the installation of the post paid meters instead of the pre-paid meters, insisting that the installations are still in line with the Federal government’s directive.
While the EEDC harps on ensuring that their customers are metered, public opinion in the South East zone is high that the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company should revert to the installation of prepaid meters as being done by other power distribution companies across the country, and not force post paid meters on the people of the South East region.
(Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu)
