Electricity consumers kick against tariff review

Electricity consumers in the FCT on Tuesday kicked against the planned review of tariff by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) which it had in a newspaper advertisement notified its consumers in the FCT, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger of its plans to review tariff.

Consumers said that they would only accept a downward review.

One of them, Istifanus Msheilia, a fashion designer, said that AEDC should be thinking of improving on power supply and providing pre-paid meters to customers instead of reviewing tariff.

“I think what the distribution company needs to do now is to see how it can improve on its supply to the consumers and not thinking of increase in tariff.’’

Msheilia said that what consumers wanted from the company now was uninterrupted power supply to every home.

Another consumer, Edache Ocheme, a civil servant, urged the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to ensure that it monitored activities of the company closely.

“The plans by the AEDC to review tariff calls for close monitoring of the company and all other distribution companies in the country that may be having such plans.’’

Ocheme noted that the issue of reviewing tariff upward would not be a problem if consumers would have stable power supply at their homes and businesses.

A hair-dresser, Patricia Ibrahim, advised AEDC to discard the idea of reviewing electricity tariff upward for now and concentrate on boosting supply.

“The company’s management should drop the idea of increasing its tariff and focus on providing improved service to the consumers.’’

She said that any further tariff review would put many consumers using electricity for their businesses out of business.

A welder, Malam Ahmed Labo, said that the AEDC was not considerate in its review of electricity tariff.

He noted that most consumers were currently not meeting up with the payment of their bills.

“The review will be like adding salt to an injury that is already hurting the victim,’’ Labo said.

AEDC had announced on its website that the company needed to review tariff to serve consumers better.

“We have come up with principles for how we will set prices to be fair to our customers. We hope our prices will be affordable to you now and in future.

“We don’t set our prices on our own. We are regulated by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, who will decide if what we ask you to pay is fair,’’ AEDC said.

NAN