Southeast electricity users reject plan to move customers to Band A

The South-East Electricity Consumers Association (SEECA) says it will protest against Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC)’s plan to move its customers in South-East to band A on Nov. 1.

The proposed protest was announced in a statement jointly signed by the National Chairman of SEECA, Rev. Okechukwu Obioha, and its National Secretary, Mr. Ogubuike Ibeagi, on Monday in Enugu.

The duo said the decision to protest was taken during an extraordinary meeting of the Consultative Assembly of SEECA on Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Acting Managing Director of EEDC, Dr Ernest Mupwaya, had on Oct. 9, while declaring open the company’s Customer Service Week, said the company would systematically transition customers from lower tariff bands to Band A.

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He said the move would enable the electricity users to enjoy a minimum of 20 hours of electricity supply daily.

However, the SEECA officials said that EEDC had not complied with the order of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to refund South-East electricity consumers the N11.86 billion owed them for overbilling between Jan. and Sept. 2023.

They said the protest would not be physical to NERC, EEDC and Aba Geometric Power Limited, offices but through the use of their network to inform and mobilise all the traditional rulers and Presidents-General of communities to seize from payments for electricity and stay in darkness.

According to them, EEDC has not owned up to repairing and providing transformers, wires and cables, poles, prepaid meters and other equipment used in the chain of their electricity distribution.

“Our resolution this day is that from Nov. 1, there will be an indefinite strike by all electricity consumers in the Southeast for ‘banding’ of electricity consumers in the South-East.

“The strike includes no prepaid metre to all estimated billed consumers, bulk and Community billing, and no payment; we demand for a uniform tariff to all electricity consumers in the south-east.’’

They further called on EEDC and Aba Geometric Power Limited to as a matter of urgency, take stock and begin an assemblage, repair and replacement of all bad transformers and begin to provide wires, cables and poles as required by NERC regulations.

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“We are calling on them to refund all over-billed consumers to the tune of N11.86 billion as investigated and ordered by NERC.

“As soon as our indefinite strike starts, we encourage the NERC and Federal Government to advise the EEDC and Aba Power Ltd, Geometric to seize from their supply of electricity to all consumers of electricity in the South-East until the above-required rules of engagements are met,” they said.