The consumers of electricity in Port Harcourt expressed happiness over the bill passed by the federal house of Representatives where it outlaws the electricity companies’ “wait and take” system of consumer billing popularly called “estimated bills.”, where they apportion any amount to any customer without meter reading.
Electricity consumers see this as timely and responsive because over the years the electricity supply companies have been using this type of billing to defraud the public.
Before the House of Representatives outlawed it, people were complaining from time to time in every administration and it became worse immediately NEPA was privatized and everyone ignored the criminality of the act, and more, because people don’t know their rights or they don’t have time and money to spend on what a lot of people describe as insignificant and baseless.
The rest see the electricity supply companies’ officials as hungry workers who make their living through such dubious means.
According to them, it is obvious that the House of Representatives have come to the peoples’ rescue and to a large extent check-mate the excesses of those giving estimated bills.
Okike Onyekwere J. a businessman expressed happiness over the bill by House of Representatives making it a criminal offence to issue estimated bills to consumers of electricity, stating that the electricity companies’ officials have been made public. At least the people will know that it is quite illegal for these companies to issue estimated bills.
Another area the House has to fix is the actual bills which don’t synchronize with the meter reading. Take for instance upon the epileptic nature of power supply and its total black out (for weeks) a two bedroom flat pays as high as N18,000 to N20,000 or more. How this amount is arrived at is quite unknown or a room paying as high as N5,000 – N7,000 for a month and majority of these people do not have such appliances as electric cookers, heater, air-conditioners.
Okike concludes that there are a lot to be addressed by the House as concerns the electric bills and as it has started working on that.
Speaking with Mr Ebuka Chukwuka, a laundry business owner,he expressed happiness over the development.
” I am very happy about this,because for so many years now Power Holding Company Of Nigerian has been extorting money from us. As you can see my shop is small,I don’t even have washing machine. I only make use of iron, fan and bulb, and they bill me N12,000 for a month. Honestly government has done so well” he stated.
Madam Fikayo Adigun a civil servant said “I can’t wait for them to distribute the prepaid metre. PHCN has really dealt with us. They charge us whatever they feel like. But with your prepaid metre, you will be charge according to what you use,and you can manage your electricity consumption. You can use your credit card of N3,000 for two months. Criminalising estimated bill is a good one” she stated.
