NUJ condemns Jos Electric’s illegal disconnections in Bauchi

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bauchi State Council, has condemned incessant illegal disconnections by some officials of Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED) in the state.

The journalists, on Monday, expressed displeasure over the activities of JED officials who move around the town in the company’s vehicles to disconnect customers on prepaid meters “simply to force customers back to estimated billing.”

According to a statement by the union, there is a lacuna in the payment of power supply in the name of estimated bills, especially in paying for services not rendered, including payments for darkness.
The secretary of the Union, Isa Garba Gadau, said, “The Press Centre previously paid between N1m and N1.6m monthly before installing a prepaid meter.

We now consume about N50,000 per month, or are they sad because they could not get such an amount from us again? They have disconnected us twice, even with the prepaid meter. They do these illegal disconnections to force customers to estimated billing.

“As we speak, we are in darkness without any allegations of meter bypass. This is what many customers face in Bauchi.”

The union faulted the activities of some JED officials who deliberately frustrated and embarrassed their customers, even those operating with prepaid meters, simply to force them to adopt estimated bills for their personal benefits.

The Bauchi State Council of NUJ advised the Bauchi State Government, ministries, and agencies to look for alternative power supplies so that they would make a lot of savings from the outrageous estimated bills being issued to them on a monthly basis.

NUJ called on JED management to always engage trained personnel who have good human relations with customers to enable them to provide effective services to their customers.