From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Residents of Makurdi, the Benue state capital have lamented over the outrageous monthly electric bills they receive from the Jos Electricity Distribution Company, JED, despite the poor power supply from the company.
The residents also bemoaned alleged unimpressive services rendered by the company including several days of power outage without explanation from officials of the company.
They appealed to the Federal Government to call the company to order as it had allegedly capitalised on the increment on Band A tariff to effect blanket increment in charges on all electricity consumers even without commensurate power supply.
Some of the residents including artisans, traders and civil servants who voiced their concern on the issue in Makurdi could not hide their pains lamenting that they were paying outrageous electricity charges for services not rendered.
According to a barbing salon owner along George Akume Way, New GRA, who identified himself as Odima, he was charged over N22,000 in the month of May when he did not enjoy up 50 hours of electricity supply in the said month.
He said, “the bill I got for May was over N22,000 even when we did not enjoy up to 50 hours of electricity supply in the month. It is unacceptable. It is as if nobody is regulating and monitoring what JED is doing. We are completely at their mercy. We are paying for darkness not electricity.”
Also, a civil servant who lives in the High Level axis of the town, Mr. Jethro Abo, who apart from lamenting the epileptic power supply in the area, said, “even when we have faults on the lines and you call them to come and rectify the problem it takes them days to respond. But at the end of the month you get a bill as high as N30,000 for a tenant of two bedroom apartment.
“One begins to wonder how they arrive at that and how they expect us to pay for that kind of crazy bill. Is it that the company has capitalised on the increment on Band A Tarrif to effect blanket increment on all electricity charges? That is why Labour is insisting that the increment should be reversed. We are being made to pay for electricity that we did not consume.
“In fact it is becoming obvious that the privatisation of the power sector was done in error. Power supply and maintenance services were obviously better under NEPA. We are now paying very high bills without commensurate electricity supply. We appeal to the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to reverse the privatisation of the power sector as it has completely failed to achieve the purpose for the sale.”
Reacting, the Regional Manager of JED in Makurdi, Comrade Ojochide Agbata posited that the review of electricity tariff was not peculiar to Makurdi “and it is only for the Feeders on Band A who had their electricity tariff reviewed upward. Moreover Distribution Companies do not have the authority to review tarrifs. Consumption is also a factor in determining bills. When you consume high you pay high and when you consume less you pay less, that is the truth.”
