20th August, 2024
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer
AEDC Zone 1-Ziquinchor Street, Zone 4, Wuse
Abuja.
Attention:
Email: customercare@abujaelectricity.com
Dear Sir,
UNFAIR BILLING PRACTICES IN KOGI CENTRAL SENATORIAL DISTRICT
As the apex socio-cultural organization of the Ebira people both at home (Kogi Central) and in diaspora, we at its leadership are constrained to write to express our profound concerns and disappointments regarding the increasing outrageous and inaccurate billing system adopted by your company for residents of Kogi Central Senatorial District.
In the last few months and particularly in July and August 2024, our association has been inundated with disturbing complaints, visits and massive public outcry from affected residents regarding excessive and unjustified electricity bills. These bills ranging from N21, 000 to N41, 000 monthly starkly contrast with previous billing of N8, 000 to N10, 000 monthly. This development has not only engendered frustration and anger but has created apprehension among residents who are struggling with daily livelihood.
From the complaints made by these representatives of the different communities that were affected, we made the following observations;
1. We confirmed that residents of these communities pay as much as N21, 000 to N41, 000 monthly, a stark departure from the pre July and August 2024 bills.
2. That these billing system does not reflect the actual consumption of the customers in the area as there was not much commensurate increase in the number of light hours per day in the areas. This is particularly so when their bills were compared with the bills of the neighboring communities like Edo, Ondo and even communities in the Kogi Western Senatorial Districts who are enjoying the same number of light hours per day. The aforementioned neighbors receive significantly lower bills compared to what Kogi Central has been paying as monthly bills.
3. Majority of the residents in question use these services for domestic purposes and for some few hours in a day too. There is therefore no justification for such outrageous bills for domestic consumption.
4. We note too, the placement of undue additional financial burden on these residents who are made to bear costs for equipment, repairs, replacements and payment for installations of your facilities. These have put extra costs on the residents who have to bear all the expenditures without compensation in any form.
5. Many of these residents whose services have been disconnected for upwards of four to eight months are still being billed, indicating that your organization is not billing customers on the basis of consumption but unilaterally.
After an exhaustive deliberation, the leadership of the organization resolved as follows;
a. That this unilateral method of billing customers in Kogi Central is condemned and rejected as it amounts to exploitation of the good and peace loving people of the area.
b. We demand that your company revert to the billing of the months before July 2024 which stands between N8, 000 per month, per household and anything short of it cannot be accepted or explained.
c. That all outstanding bills that were accrued on the grounds of these outrageous estimated bills should be written off, since they do not reflect actual consumption abinitio.
d. It is pertinent to add that EPA believes in the essence of peaceful interactions between the different communities and all business organizations in the land, including your company. It is therefore important that this call for restraint is taken seriously, otherwise, your services for the people in the land will not be meaningful.
We conclude by requesting that these demands be met as urgently as possible and avail this association of your response within a period of not more than one week from the receipt of this letter.
Thank you for your anticipated positive response.
Dr Oyibo Godwin
President General
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