Electricity consumers in Abuja have undertaken an overview of their situation currently, describing it as just unacceptable.
They lament particularly, a situation in which they have could now count on their finger tips, the number of hours they enjoy electricity supply seamlessly.
Majorly caught up in the quagmire are those residing in the in Kubwa, Bwari, Kado, Apo and Dutse areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This comes amidst band A electricity consumers in Abuja paying as much as ₦225/kWh, and yet being not able to enjoy the resource, because over 60 per cent of them do have have prepaid metres.
They are instead left to the challenges of high estimated bills.
The consumers also reacted to the increase in electricity tariff by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) without consultations.
Those of them who spoke to NAN on the matter complain over incessant outages, even after paying their estimated bills.
“I have really suffered lack of electricity in my neighborhood, I use prepared metre and even after recharging my metre, I don’t see electricity”, one of them who spoke in Kubwa, Mr Segun Akinjide, said.
He is now contemplating switching to solar energy as a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative.
“This is very frustrating, I appeal to the Federal Government to look into the matter”, he told the correspondent.
READ ALSO: Ikeja Electric Reacts To Report Linking Its Staff To Cable Vandalism
READ ALSO: New Tariff: Electricity 107 ‘Band A’ Areas in Abuja [FULL LIST]
Another consumer in Dutse, Mrs Comfort Chukwu, said that she normally gets 89.9 units for N5, 000 when she purchases credit for her pre-paid metre but now she gets 73.4 units for that amount.
Chukwu said she was surprised when she purchased credit units for her metre and found out that the units had reduced.
Another resident at Wumba in Apo district, Madam Roseline Ugwu, said her house was on estimated billing and she paid N30,000 last month, but now paid N100,000 for electricity.
“I was surprised when they brought the bill for this month and we saw N100,000. How can we pay for such expensive light that was not constant,” she said.
Another consumer, Miss Jane Ella, residing in Bwari said that she purchased 89.9 units for N5, 000 but now she gets 51.7 units for that same amount.
She said that it was so frustrating paying higher tariff when she was not even getting regular power supply.
A resident in Kado, Mr John Ogar, expressed frustration at being charged ₦13,000 monthly for electricity, even though his area was faced with unending outages due to a faulty transformer.
Yusuf Abdullahi, a small-scale vendor of cold drinks, said his shop had not had electricity for days, yet he still received estimated bills of ₦10,000 monthly.
“We use over 20 litres of diesel daily to keep the drinks cold and run our businesses,” he lamented.
Mr Adeshina Johnson, a resident in Bwari , said that in spite of their transformer being in good condition, they received less than four hours of electricity daily, and only at night.
While calling for a stable power supply, he recommended only a marginal tariff increase to avoid putting additional pressure on the poor.
Another consumer in Dutse, Mr Thomas Ezekiel said he paid N10,000 last month for 144 units and light in his area had improved compared to before.
“We now have up to between four to five hours of electricity in a day, compared to before when we don’t see up to three hours in a day,” he said.
A staff of AEDC, who pleaded anonymity, explained that the increase in electricity depended on the bands of consumers .
According to him, they charged per kWh per hour and it depends on the charges on the 33kv transformer in the area.
He explained that the electricity was charged by what the transformer reads in each area.
Meanwhile, NAN reports that NERC had planned to to increase electricity tariff.
Dr Aliyu Ilias, a development expert, and customer experience management specialist, criticised the planned electricity tariff increase.
He said that consumers were already struggling with poor power supply and should not be made to pay more for inadequate service.
According to him, many communities are experiencing weeks of unstable electricity, forcing households and businesses to rely on alternative power sources, such as generators and solar.
READ ALSO: Former Power Minister, Saleh Mamman Jailed 75yrs For Money Laundering
READ ALSO: Why Some States Are Suffering Power Supply Outages -KEDCO
The expert called on the Federal Government to intervene and halt the proposed tariff increment until there were noticeable improvement in electricity distribution.
He expressed concern that citizens were being burdened with additional costs, in spite persistent blackouts and unreliable service delivery.
The implication of the forgoing is that electricity consumers in Abuja are now burning their candles from two ends: spending more money and getting less power.
Worse, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had revealed it is considering an upward review of electricity tariffs to enhance service quality for customers.
“There is no issue of hidden pricing or cutting off your power arbitrarily. We are bringing the electricity tariff closer to you to improve your quality of life.”
How true this post is, is now left to the consumers in Abuja themselves to say.
