This was in response to the public outcry over the forty-five
per cent increment of electricity consumption bills issued to the consumers.
The Senate had issued the order stating that the economic situation in the country
is already biting hard on the average Nigerians and therefore unreasonable to
introduce such painful tariff regime at the moment.
Earlier, the Senate moved a motion mandating the stakeholders
(NERC and DISCOs) to remove the N750-service charge arbitrarily placed on the
consumers as well as to discontinue serving consumers with unjustifiable ‘crazy’
bills among other resolutions, ostensibly, it fell on deaf ears.
From the investigation carried out during the weekend by Pinnacle
InfoGallery BLOG, the February bills distributed by DISCOs particularly in
Lagos retained the compulsory service charge against the resolution of the lawmakers,
and above all, the new tariffs were implemented on the existing estimated ‘crazy
bills’ platform. Under Eko Distribution Company Plc (EKDC), an electricity
consumer in a two-bedroom apartment that was crying over a monthly ‘crazybill’
of N9,000 based on estimation prior to the new tariffs was during the week served
with N19,000 for the month of February on account of the increment on tariffs.
In the developed and other developing nations of the world, the
resolutions of the Senate are usually viewed with utmost regard and respected
as that of a law court until the substantive court of competent jurisdiction
rules otherwise. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s Senate is different. This is nothing
other than impunity.
If the Senate has lost its voice by passing ineffective
resolutions, reasonably, the Chambers of the National Assembly could be
converted to something else, perhaps, amusement park, and its members go back
to their respective businesses. It is sad that with all the sitting allowances
spent on its chamber, it only exists on myth, and never taken seriously except
on political shows even after elections.
Apart from the Senate’s motion, the Nigeria Labour Congress
and other Civil liberties have added voice and stood vehemently against the
increment but seemingly, the coalitions opinions mean nothing to NERC and the
DISCOs. As at the moment, the threats from
this bodies are gathering momentum.
Importantly, if at all the new tariffs would be considered,
they cannot be implemented against consumers without prepaid meters. If not,
the tendency of doubling the present unjustifiable crazy bills is high and such
bills will pile up to constitute a further barricade to the consumers that
would be willing to migrate to prepaid metering system. No doubt, the Minister
of Power, Works and Housing gave sizeable reasons why the new tariffs should be
accepted. Nevertheless, the regime cannot be implemented based on estimation
platform.
Inarguably, the N750 fixed Service-Charge cannot remain in
place alongside the new tariffs regime putting into cognizance that the cardinal
objectives of any reform all over the world is to empower the common man in the
society and boosting of the economy. The implementation of the new tariffs
without expunging the fixed service charge which is accumulative is inimical
and unacceptable.
The goal for the introduction of the prepaid meters which is
principally to restore the consumers as the boss would be defeated if by the
fixed charge, the consumers are indirectly forced to pay for services they didn’t use. The whole
idea of the prepaid meter is that a consumer can chose to use the services and
not to use it. Unfortunately, by the fixed service charge, if a consumer
chooses to use other sources of power, perhaps more favourable to him, the
fixed service charge will keep accruing against his account or force him into
using the services against his will. Logically, all charges on the consumers
should be embedded into the charges such that the consumers pay it and others unknowingly
as obtainable in GSM tariffs.
Furthermore, the reform which allows the existing customers
who already paid for Analog meters to still pay for a prepaid version prior to
migration despite the fact that the meters whether analog or digital are the
properties of the DISCOs indeed is harsh and unfair to the consumers.
Power companies cannot operate different set of rules in the
same society. As the meters are among the tools to render services, it should
source for funds and install the prepaid meters to the existing customers as
replacements rather than the present anomalies. It should be noted that the
prepaid meters which consumers are being forced to buy afresh cannot be
relocated along with the purchaser on moving from the area it was domiciled as
they belong to the DISCOs, hence cannot be included among his personal effects.
Anything short of this would certainly defeat the objective. Only new
subscribers should pay for subscription fees which includes the prepaid meters.
Sadly, a member of the House of Representative, Hon Dino
Melaye recently disclosed that the DISCOs had severally been funded to meter
all its customers, yet majority of subscribers are subjected to the estimated billing
system at the detriment of the consumers. What happened to the loans, its targets
and what about its refund? Which way Nigeria!
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