On local meters, electricity consumption

I wish to address the recent concerns raised by electricity customers in the media, namely that indigenous smart prepaid meters are programmed and installed to run electricity cards very fast.

It was alleged in the reports that many of these meters gobbled up a lot of electricity units even when the amount paid was expected to last for a certain period of time.

Without any shadow of doubt, I am compelled to disagree totally with the allegation expressed by the so-called disenchanted customers because there is no iota of truth in it.

As a matter of fact, I have found out that many domestic assistants are indeed responsible for sharp practices which, more often than not, are placed at the doorstep of the distribution companies.

There is also the worrisome case of sales representatives of certain designated outlets manipulating the Point of Sales (PoS) terminal to the disadvantage of hapless customers who pay certain amounts of money to recharge their cards and end up getting less value in the end. It is instructive to state that these concerns are not new to the distribution companies.

Many domestic assistants and sales representatives are already neck-deep in the act of swindling their bosses and customers. A case in point is a domestic assistant who was asked by his boss to pay N20, 000 to recharge his electricity only to find out that she actually paid N1,000.

The secret was exposed when the boss got fed up with the frequency of payment and thereafter asked that the concerned DISCO provide a backlog of payments made by the domestic assistant.

No doubt, this criminal act brings to mind the reality that corruption cannot be associated with leaders or government alone but also those at the lower cadre in offices and households.

Not only that, it has shown that customers can be victims of corrupt practices through those who are close to them.

Therefore, as customers, we must remain vigilant to prevent our domestic staff from swindling us of our hard earned resources.

Besides, customers need to manage their electricity consumption to guide against wastage. Oftentimes, Nigerians are fond of switching on power when it is not needed or necessary.

This alone could lead to consumption running fast, particularly with the new tariff regime introduced by distribution companies.

I advise that electricity consumers take note of this and ensure that they keep an eye on their consumption to prevent indiscriminate wastage.

I appeal that, as consumers, we monitor our domestic staff and ensure due diligence each time they are asked to pay for electricity bills.

Olamide Bakare

Ogba, Lagos.