From Abel Leonard, Lafia
Residents of Lafia, the capital city of Nasarawa State, have expressed their frustration with the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) over its poor and exploitative service.
The group speaking through its Leader, Malam Rayyanu Bala at a press conference held on Monday, in Lafia accused the AEDC of imposing uniform estimated billing on consumers, despite the construction and commissioning of the Akurba 330 KVA substation, which was supposed to improve the power supply in the area. According to the residents, electricity supply in Lafia has been characterised by massive load shedding and blackouts, with no marked improvement since President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the Akurba 330KVA substation in February 2022.
The residents also alleged that the AEDC migrated them from tariff Band D to Band A, resulting in a nearly 100% increase in their monthly bills without a corresponding improvement in the power supply. In response to these challenges, the residents wrote a formal complaint to the AEDC Lafia office and copied the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Lafia Forum office. “NERC subsequently summoned both parties for oral presentations, and in a ruling delivered on February 16, 2023, directed the AEDC to upgrade its system within three months and bring back the Circuit L1.5 substation Opposite state low cost along Shendam Road Lafia.”
However, the residents expressed disappointment that NERC did not respond to their demands for the AEDC to revert consumers back to Band D and refund the tariff imposed on them since the supply was not up to 20 hours a day, as required for consumers on Band A.
The residents appealed to the federal and state governments to intervene and compel the AEDC to provide consumers with 20 hours of electricity supply or revert them to Band D, as well as refund the tariff imposed on them since June 2022. They also called on the government to address the poor power supply in Lafia and its environs.