Editor
Residents of Ikorodu, Lagos, have accused officials of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) of outrageous and double billing of electricity.
Several residents and community leaders that spoke to Prime Business Africa said IKEDC does not only bill residents without prepaid meters exorbitantly but also houses that have prepaid meters were still being charged estimated billing.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Chairman of Ereko CDA under the Itaoluwo area said that about 50 out of 500 houses in his community were metered. He said, notwithstanding that those whose houses were metered got their meters through stressful and costly means, “IKEDC officials still issue them crazy bills”.
One of the landlords in Liberty Estate, under the same Itaoluwo area, echoed the same problem.
“Some houses have meters but the IKEDC people do not go by it. They just sit down to decide what amount that they would share. How can a four-bedroom flat and a five-bedroom duplex be issued the same bill every month if they are not just imagining figures?”, he said.
Another landlord and resident of Liberty Estate, Mr. Jide Johnson narrated an incident when he was issued a bill that he felt was very exorbitant and unjustifiable.
“When I saw the bill of N23,000, I was furious. I asked my children what they used the light for while I’m not at home; nothing. Then I paid the bill and cautioned my family to be mindful of how they consume light. I asked them to regulate light usage.
“But to my greatest surprise the following month I got the same N23,000. I was confused and reached out to my neighbours. They also got the exact N23,000. All the houses in my street and other streets were given N23,000. It doesn’t matter whether the house is metered or unmetered; we all get the same figure.”
Some of the residents said that they had applied for a prepaid meter online, but that “the IKEDC has not done anything about it.” Those who have gotten theirs said after they registering, they had to part with money before the IKEDC officials came to issue the meter.
“We have to pay a sum of N100,000 or even more so that we can get a prepaid meter and after we pay, we would still be dragging them to come and help us fix it” a landlord who chose to remain anonymous for fear of persecution said.
