By Chinelo Obogo
Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat has condemned the exorbitant electricity bills given to consumers by distribution companies (DisCos).
Speaking at a roundtable between the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the Lagos State Government on Monday, Hamzat who represented Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, cited his own household bill which he said surged from ₦2.7 million in March to ₦29 million in April. He criticised the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko DisCo) for what he described as “crazy billing”.
“People are trying to survive and the common denominator for them is power. They don’t have power. There are billing challenges. In fact I’m a very good example. Last month, in my house, or the state house that I live in, the bill was N2.7m last month. This month, Eko DisCo sent us a bill of 29m. I sent it to the Commissioner for Energy. It’s crazy,” he said.
He also revealed that he had purchased a prepaid meter to avoid estimated billing but that the company failed to install whst he paid for. “I actually procured a meter. I bought a meter to say, ’Look, don’t give estimated billing. I bought the meter, but to convert it is wahala,” he lamented.
Hamzat also narrated cases, including that of a resident in Coker Aguda, Surulere, who received an electricity bill of ₦2.8 million, an amount which exceeded his annual rent of ₦2 million.
“There’s a place called Coker Aguda in Surulere, and people came to me, and I was asking them to calm down. A man’s rent in a year is about N2m; they gave him a bill of N2.8m for electricity. How can the bill be more than the man’s rent for a year? Those are the challenges that we have. Our people are suffering because of estimated billing,” he stated.
At the roundtable, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the REA and Lagos State to expand electricity access to underserved rural communities.