PHCN customers angry over crazy bills
MAY 9, 2013
Customers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria have expressed dissatisfaction with the rising incidence of crazy billing by the organisation, DAYO OKETOLA writes
Although, it is not a new development, the ‘crazy bills’ problem has continued to anger millions of electricity consumers in the country.
Crazy billing is the estimation of customers’ bills based on energy supplied to a particular community and not on the actual consumption by individuals.
The situation is largely felt by customers whose post-paid meters are either faulty or damaged or who do not have any meter. Whatever the case may be, no customer takes the issue of ‘crazy bills’ lightly.
Statistics has revealed that this problem affects over 60 per cent of the total population of electricity consumers in the country. These people feel cheated for paying for electricity that is never supplied. As such, it does not only cause palpable anger among customers, it has continued to pitch the people against PHCN employees.
Customers, who spoke with our correspondent, condemned the situation.
Mr. Jon Okafo, a PHCN customer in the Surulere area of Lagos, said, “In fact, it is alarming to note that the power issue has not improved while the issue of crazy billing has actually gotten worse. In my neighbourhood in Lawanson, Surulere, all the homeowners have come together under the aegis of landlords association to petition PHCN. The message is clear-you are killing us with crazy bills, it is either you review it downwards, or we won’t pay!
“Personally, I have written to the Masha area office of the PHCN to register my total displeasure with their “estimated billing” practice. Nothing has changed, I will do another petition. The bill keeps increasing every month. The only thing that has changed about the crazy bills is that the amount keeps peaking every month, while generation keeps nose-diving,” he added.
The Treasurer, Shokeye Community Development Association, Mowe, Ogun State, Mr. Femi Olusanya, said, “The situation still persists and even worse than when I wrote my last complaint.”
Dr. Ayo Ayodele, who described customers’ crazy billing challenge as the proverbial beggar with little choice, said, “I must say that the estimation billing system of the PHCN is, to put it mildly, very nauseating. From personal experience, it has been observed that where there are no meters, officials of the PHCN rely on intuition that has no empirical basis for the calculation of energy consumption.
“Much of this has to do with the mandate for revenue given to the PHCN agents in various communities. It is actually a bad practice, bothering on a rip-off, to bill consumers for electricity supply that was non-existent.
“Even when it is obvious that consumers have not enjoyed the supply of electricity for up to a total of just 10 days in a month, the same high bills still get circulated.”
According to Ayodele, the way out of this is to expedite actions on the prepaid meter so that the era of unjustifiable bills will be over for good.
Another customer, Mr. Tolu Adebayo, said crazy bills were still a major problem. He said, “It is becoming more and more worrisome. Now, we go without electricity for three days at a stretch, yet PHCN brings me a N26,000 bill when I don’t operate a bakery or a dry-cleaning factory in my house.”
The Chairman, Ikate Community Development Association, Abiodun Ogunleye, and Secretary, Kehinde Okelade, in a recent letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer, IKEDC, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent, complained about outrageous estimation billing.
The letter read, “We had an account of a tenant who had moved out of No. 31, Anjorin Street and a bill of N8, 000 was distributed for the month of April to the empty flat.
“We also had a case of Mr. Chinedu from No. 16 Abayomi who moved into the area three months ago. According to him, at his former residence he was paying N2,000. However, when he moved to Abayomi, the first month he paid a bill of N12,000 and now he got a bill of N20,000.
“Again, one Stella from No. 39 Anjorin alleged that her pre-paid meter developed some faults and your officers came to remove it late February with a promise to return same in April. To her amazement, she got a bill of N11, 000 as against getting her pre-paid meter back.
“They said no PHCN employee would be allowed within the area whether in the guise of marketing or disconnection; adding that a task force had been inaugurated to monitor the movement of PHCN workers in the community.”
Mr. Adeniyi Sesan of Okota, in a letter written to PUNCH on April 17, said, “I want to use this medium to urge the government to look into the supply and distribution of power to Lamina Lawal Street and its environs. For over three weeks now, the residents of this area have no light, despite the crazy bills the Power Holding Company of Nigeria sends to us every month. Please PHCN Okota should look into this erratic supply and distribution targeted at some industrial areas. “
A PHCN employee, who works in a computer room, had recently in an interview with our correspondent admitted that billing of customers without meters was at the whims and caprices of officials computing the bills. He spoke with us on the condition of anonymity.
“Infact, PHCN distribution companies sometimes make up for the shortfall in its monthly target by finding an average and distributing the anticipated balance across the non-metered customers within a specific area,” he said.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Sam Amadi, who spoke with our correspondent over the telephone on Tuesday, said the agency was increasing its compliance monitoring to ensure the situation was addressed.
He also advised customers to complain to the distribution companies whenever they received ‘crazy bills’.
“Consumers should complain to the discos whenever they receive crazy bills. They should request for the review of their bills,” Amadi said.
When contacted, the Principal Manager, Public Affairs, Ikeja Distribution Zone of PHCN, Mr. Pekun Adeyanju, said, “It is a function of consumption. Our billing is based on energy distributed into any area. If you don’t have a meter or the meter is bad, we have to estimate your consumption because we cannot allow you to use electricity for free. Owners of pre-paid meters don’t have much problem.
“People have the tendency to waste electricity. They don’t economise electricity. That is why the Federal Government is talking about the use of energy-saving bulbs.”
Both customers and PHCN officials agreed that pre-paid meter will provide the necessary solution to this problem. However, the pre-paid meters are not available.
Amadi, the NERC boss, therefore urged the bidders of the PHCN successor companies to ensure that electricity had pre-paid meter.
Adeyanju of the IKEDC said the company was waiting for the release of guidelines from NERC on how to increase the spread of pre-paid meters in the country.
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