Outrageous billing, pre-paid meters: Ekiti landlords drag BEDC to court

LANDLORD in Ekiti State have dragged the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) for alleged over-billing for electricity not supplied and hoarding of prepaid electricity meters.

The homeowners, under the aegis of Ekiti State Landlords Electricity Consumers’ Association, said BEDC was fond of distributing “outrageous and killing” and lamented that this was becoming worrisome.

The landlords, in a statement signed by Dr Ibukun Ogundipe and Pastor C. O. Seye and made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, also alleged that the BEDC was “deliberately hoarding the prepaid meters which were to be given out free.”

They claimed that “this was done purposely to cheat the consumers so that they can keep bringing their concocted, outrageous bill of electricity we did not use.”

The landlords said BEDC must make available to them pre-paid meters as a way to end “the seemingly endless regime of extortion and arbitrary bills being slammed on the residents of the state.”

The body also directed all the landlords in the state to be paying N3,000 monthly charges until the prepaid meters that would ensure accurate reading of electricity consumed, without people being shortchanged, are provided.

They said: “This association has met several times on the unimaginable and wicked exploitation through outrageous and arbitrary billing of all electricity consumers who do not have prepaid meters in Ado Ekiti and environs.

“Electricity generation and distribution no doubt is the fulcrum on which any national development rest upon. Since the management of BEDC commences operation in Ekiti, we have observed that because many of us don’t have prepaid, the commonest bill now ranges between N10, 000 and N18,000 per month, even for one room apartment.

“This is unacceptable and we reject this totally. The outrageous billing does not in any way match the epileptic power supply of electricity, which has caused incalculable damage to our electrical appliances.

“We have realised that all the communities maintain the electrical installations and replace components of transformers stolen by vandals. Each community has committed millions in this regard.

“We have decided to mobilise the entire people of Ado Ekiti in an unprecedented protest to carry out indefinite picketing on BEDC premises until out case is looked into.”

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The homeowners said they had directed their lawyer to file a suit against BEDC over this “unmitigated pain” members of their association had been encountering through the company’s operations.

They called on the Consumer Protection Agency to call the company to order in the interest of the public.
Reacting, Public Relations Officer of BEDC in Ekiti, Mr Kayode Brown, said the company was not circumventing the regulations of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on electricity distribution, saying “the prepaid meters at our disposal had been allocated appropriately.”

Brown said: “You can’t hoard what you don’t have. We have exhausted what we have received so far to the targeted categories.

“The NERC instructed us to give the prepaid to industrialists first, then the prime areas and the residential buildings in that order.

“So industrialists have benefitted and I know those complaining are the house owners and they will get their soon, they should just bear with us.”