The price of a single-phase electrical energy meter has risen to over N130,000 from N88,000 within the first quarter of this occasion.
That is the second one week the Nigerian Electrical energy Regulatory Fee would approve an build up within the costs of pay as you go meters.
Sunday PUNCH accrued that the cost of a single-phase meter ranged from N130,000 to N139,000, age a three-phase meter used to be bought between N219,000 and N229,000, relying at the supplier.
That is simply as some customers who haven’t begun to be metered endured to lament prime estimated billing from their Electrical energy Distribution Corporations.
The patrons on direct connection lamented that they obtain estimated billings each moment, declaring that the volume being charged by means of DisCos isn’t normally commensurable to the devices of power they old.
A single-phase intriguing meter used to be bought at N106,802.69 age the three-phase intriguing meter rose from N154,600 in Might this occasion to is going for N210,751.61.
In keeping with one of the electrical energy distribution firms who told to our correspondent, DisCos now not have keep watch over over meter gross sales, declaring that the shoppers do business in at once with the meter asset supplier, who is remitted to provide the meter inside of 10 running days nearest fee.
The Well-known Govt Officer of Femadec Workforce, Fola Akinola, lately mentioned meter software portals have been close in April since the distributors and the DisCos have been regularising costs to mirror the tide financial realities.
“In a situation where you fixed the price of meters when $1 was around N500, and now that $1 is over N1,300, you cannot sell the ones you have because you will not be able to replace them. People cannot bring in meters because of the exchange rate,” he said.
Customers kick
In an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, the Govt Director of the Electrical energy Customers Coverage and Advocacy Centre, Princewill Okorie, puzzled why NERC would approve any other meter value build up at a week the shoppers are nonetheless suffering with the Band A tariff hike.
In keeping with Okorie, Discos, aided by means of NERC, were extorting Nigerians by means of failing to abide by means of the MAP coverage which stipulated that customers will have to get power credit score as a reimbursement for meters paid for.
“The MAP scheme coverage says that if a shopper will pay for a meter, he will have to get a reimbursement thru power credit score. What number of customers were paid again?
“Why will this sector be most effective about amassing cash from the shoppers with out provider supply, transparency and responsibility? It is because no person punishes or screens the Discos. It nonetheless boils right down to the shopper side of the field no longer being taken critically.
The shopper rights activist disclosed that all the way through the 2022 tariff hike, NERC had authorized for DisCos that for each invoice a shopper will pay, a definite share will have to be for the Meter Acquisition Investmrent.
In June this occasion, the Federal Govt authorized N21bn below the Presidential Metering Initiative to handover meters to unmetered consumers without charge.
Customers are asking how the N21bn Mater Acquisition Budget allotted to the DisCos have been spent.
NERC spokesman, Usman Arabi, may just no longer be reached on the week of submitting this file.
An reputable of the fee who spoke on anonymity informed our correspondent that buyers don’t seem to be to pay for meters below this initiative.
Requested if this is able to no longer quantity to discriminating in opposition to those that were paying for meters for these types of years, the NERC reputable retorted, “Those people are supposed to be refunded by the DisCos through energy credit and the commission is following up on the compliance.”
Any other supply informed our correspondent that the MAF meters are for Band A consumers most effective.
“The Phase 1 MAF meters will be given to Band A customers for free. It will eventually go round to other customer classes”, mentioned the supply.
On the other hand, our correspondent noticed that the metering hole remains to be as prime as seven million of the 13 million electrical energy consumers.
The Govt Director of Analysis and Advocacy, Affiliation of Nigerian Electrical energy Vendors, Sunday Oduntan, informed our correspondent that the meter coverage has modified, announcing DisCos now not have keep watch over over meter gross sales.
In the meantime, some consumers of electrical energy distribution firms within the southwestern a part of Nigeria have lamented the volume being given to them by means of the Eko Electrical energy Distribution Corporate and Ibadan Electrical energy Distribution Corporate.
The patrons who complained to Sunday PUNCH mentioned the per thirty days expenses have been choking and unpayable.
An EKEDC buyer, Christina Monyeh, mentioned she have been receiving a ‘crazy bill’ from EKED since July 11, 2023, when the corporate charged her N394,286.03.
She mentioned, “The unbalanced billing began in July once we have been billed N394,286.03, it greater to N650,285.04 in December 2023 and it went on like that. To our awe, they introduced a invoice of N1,134,129.05 in January, N1,350,727.55 in February and N746,945,00 in July.
“We had pay as you go meter which we normally load between N40,000 and N60,000 electrical energy devices on it. However in June 2023, some officers of the EKEDC got here to the home and mentioned the meter used to be stagnant; I don’t know what that suggests. They positioned us on direct since upcoming.
“We applied for meter in January 2024, but the meter was not given to us. In May this year, the EKEDC claimed that the address we supplied was not correct. I suspect they didn’t want to give the meter to us because of the crazy billing”, she said.
A buyer of Ibadan Electrical energy Distribution Corporate in Osogbo, Ismail Kolapo, lamented that his area gained N700,000 electrical energy invoice from the corporate.
He mentioned, “IBEDC’s invoice is choking and unpayable as a result of I don’t know why they might give us N700,000 invoice for once we didn’t have a chilly room.
“Around February this year, we approached one of the marketers of the IBEDC for prepaid meter. We paid N80,000 for one face meter and an additional N10,000 as consultation fee. A week later, we were told IBEDC had closed the portal for meter procurement.”
However the Head of Media Members of the family of the IBEDC, Busolami Tunwase, mentioned the corporate had refuse keep watch over over the cost of meter.
She mentioned, “No customer is billed arbitrarily. There’s something we call capping policy for those who do not have a meter, it is an accountability mechanism put in place to ensure that customers are not billed arbitrarily beyond their cumulative usage. The policy is to ensure that no customer is cheated.”
Reacting, the Normal Supervisor, Company Communications and Process of EKED, Babatunde Lasaki, additionally mentioned not one of the consumers of the distribution corporate are charged indiscriminately.
“Note that access to pre-paid meters cannot be denied to any customer under any circumstances,” he said.