Chuks Onuoha, Umuahia
A 20-man Task Force Committee has been set up in Aba, Abia State, to stop power consumers in the town from paying electricity bills brought to them by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) until they install prepaid meters in their homes. This was revealed in a statement issued by Aba Landlords Protection and Development Association (ALPADA), after their recent quarterly meeting. According to the statement, the move is aimed at forcing the EEDC to stop giving their members estimated, spurious and crazy bills, which they noted, is above the normal bills they ought to pay. The statement signed by the President General of ALPADA, Chief Alphonsus Udeigbo, said the issue has been a bone of contention between them and the EEDC for many years now. They, however, advised those whose properties had been installed with pre-paid meters to continue paying their bills.
“If they install prepaid meters to our properties, our problem with them will come to end, but they don’t want to do that because it will not give them the opportunity to continue cheating us with bills of the power we did not consume.
“They must give us prepaid meters or forget about collecting money from power consumers in Aba. They know that if prepaid meters were installed, they would not have the opportunity of defrauding consumers. Many companies have folded in Aba and others are preparing to go because of their crazy billing systems,” the landlords said.