It was all anger on the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday, as debate on the general principles of a Bill seeking to prohibit the use of estimated electricity tariffs for consumers in Nigeria held. The proposed Bill, which was intended to amend the Electricity Sector Reform Act, will if passed into law, also criminalise deliberate refusal of any of the DisCos to provide prepay metres to customers on request within 30 days.
The Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, described the use of estimated billing for electricity consumers in the country as “a modernised scam,” employed by the Distribution Companies (DisCos) against helpless citizens. Gbajabiamila, leading debate on the general principles of the Bill he personally sponsored to prohibit the use of estimated electricity tariffs, which scaled second reading yesterday, said by the practice “consumers have been held to ransom, and exploited on a monthly basis.”
The Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, who presided over the session gave his personal experience of the pains Nigerians were going through, as his not-always-occupied village house was usually given N80, 000 monthly estimated bill for supply “that is seldom seen,” until he had to personally request that it be disconnected. Also speaking, the Deputy Majority Whip, Pally Iriase, said: “Today, we are under serious oppression, disclosing that his community in Edo state and surrounding villages have been cut off from the national grid, just for opposing the use of the exploitative estimated billing. While the DisCos bought the distribution channels of the electricity sector with peanuts, they have not added anything, as generation is reported to have overshot the capacity of distribution.”
Also, Tahir Monguno described the experience as “embarrassing,” especially when lesser developed African countries like Sudan, Niger and others “are using prepay metres, even at the remotest parts of the nations.” Several other members spoke in support of the proposed amendment, urging its speedy passage, before the Bill was referred to the Committee on Power, after it was passed for second reading, for further legislative action.
