When FCCPC led Eko Electricity consumers’ protest against proposed tariff hike

It was meant to be a gathering for stakeholders in the power sector, especially those within the Lagos Island, to vent their views on the vexatious issues of tariff review being proposed by Eko Electricity Distribution Company.

The  electricity distribution company servicing over 500,000 consumers, spread across Island, Lekki and Ibeju districts of the area, had earlier gone to Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission for a buy-in into its request for a review in tariff being paid by customers within its jurisdiction; a request the Commission had, in turn, requested the DisCo to justify before the stakeholders, especially the consumers, that would bear their brunt of such increase.

“The Eko Electricity Distribution Company had written to us, requesting for a tariff review, and this forum provides everybody the opportunity to air their views concerning such review,” explained the Chairman of the Panel, who is also the Commissioner, Finance and Management Services of the Commission, Mr Nathan Rogers, while flagging off  the Public Hearing of the application for extra-ordinary tariff review, held in Lagos, recently.

Interestingly, the tariff which seemed to have got a tacit approval from the Commission, was however subjected to different scrutiny from the consumers, led by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), who queried the appropriateness of such hike at this period.

For instance, while making his contribution at the forum, the Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, Mr Babatunde Irukera, had called for  caution on the issue, since the approval would amount to putting another burden on the nation’s  over-burdened electricity consumers.

According to him, for the distribution company to be deemed justified, both morally and legally, to increase tariff, there was the need for a re-assurance that such review would lead to improved electricity supply.

“I think it is morally and even legally wrong to continue to charge consumers for a service they never enjoy, not to talk of planning an increase on such service.  For me and every electricity consumer in the country, it is not about whether electricity tariffs are increased or not. It is about whether such increase would lead to improved service delivery. It is about whether such increase is justified,” the FCCPC boss argued.

He faulted the plans of the management of EkoDisCo to transfer government subsidy to the consumers,  just because  the federal government was no longer  willing to susidise electricity consumption in the country. He however counselled the electricity company to, instead, address the funding gap, by investing in its tariff collection.

Irukera argued that the company had not been able to effectively justify to the audience how a tariff review would translate to efficient power supply, and why the company had failed in its metering process.

“The fact remains that as long as fewer people continue to pay for the collective, we will continue to be in this problem. That is why it has become imperative for you to devise means of ensuring every consumer pays for what they consume. For instance, it is wrong to disconnect a whole community, just because some people are not paying. There is no law that justifies a situation, whereby an individual is being punished for the sins of another,” he stated.

Irukera also called on the company to clean up its billing methods and ensure transparency, before thinking of a tariff review. He described as unjust, a situation whereby a consumer continues to pay for services not enjoyed.

“That is why the issue of metering every consumer has become critical, here. It is a pity that till now, about 55 percent of the nation’s electricity consumers remain unmetered. So what that means is that what the unmetered get at the end of the month are estimated billings, which, sometimes, do not reflect the amount of electricity consumed for that month.

“You can’t justify your billing cycle. No moral justification for your estimated billing. Until you make estimated billing unattractive, I can’t see any solution in sight. I believe estimated billing must truly be estimated, not arbitrary or crazy.

“Unfortunately, we are not even bridging that metering gap. And, unfortunately, anytime there is a revenue shortfall, those not metered are in for it. And these people constitute a whopping 55 percent of electricity consumers. So even with your best of intention, we know who the victims will be,” Irukera argued.

He however charged the company to be responsive and sensitive to the plight of their consumers, by ensuring that the channels for resolving consumer complaints are truly open.

In his contribution, Augustine Duru would rather want the electricity company to seek the support of the nation’s Engineers, and collaborate with the Institute of Power Engineers.

Duru, representing the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), chided the distribution company for not heeding the advice of members of the professional body, especially those within its employment.

“Try and model your business along telecoms business. Take time to understand what the telecoms companies did to survive, with the aim of borrowing a leaf from such insight. Besides, you need to engage the nation’s Engineers, more. We have qualified Engineers capable of bailing the nation power sector out of the quagmire it presently finds itself,” he stated.

A consumer, Ibeabuchi Paul, faulted plans by the electricity distribution company to increase tariff when it had not addressed some crucial issues affecting the sector.

“For instance, revenues are being lost in my area on a daily basis, simply because our transformer was switched off because of the huge debt on it. Curiously, the fact that some of us are not owing does not really matter to the company. I think it is issues like this that we should first sort out before embarking on a tariff increase, which would at the end of the day, amount to robbing us of our hard-earned money,” he stated.

Interestingly, in spite of the misgivings expressed from different quarters, about the hike, the electricity company seemed bent on going ahead with the hike.

For the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Adeoye Fadebiyi, it is a bitter pill that must be forced down the throats of the consumers.

According to him, though the forum was meant to discuss tariff review, pursuant to NERC regulations on the procedure for electricity tariff review and business rules of the Commission, the company had already made up its mind to increase tariff in the next few weeks; since that was the only way to ensure its efficiency.

He however assured on improved power supply, when the new tariff comes into effect, despite the daunting challenges facing the company.

Interestingly, despite the grandstanding of the DisCo, one thing that will continue to echo in the minds of every participant at the forum remains the general abhorrence of the nation’s electricity consumers to the proposed hike, not because of any other factor, but the suspicion such would not translate to improved electricity supply.