Some electricity consumers in parts of Benue State, the capital city are lamenting the high increase in electricity bills from the Jos Electricity Distribution Company, JED.
Decrying the situation within the state in recent times, some aggrieved consumers who spoke to newsmen on Tuesday condemned what they described as ‘crazy bills been distracted by Jos Electricity company.
One of the residents in Makurdi who simply called him Dan said that he is now billed N28,000. in the month of November for two bedroom flat.
” I was paying N7,000 monthly. By June they increased the bill to about N13,,000; some residents within our environment were billed N16,000. We complained and they promised to address the issue saying that the charges came from their headquarters in Jos, Plateau State.
“But instead of addressing the issue as promised, the bills I have been receiving in the last four months, have been around N28,000 and some were charged as high as N32,000. How do they expect anyone to pay that kind of bill?
“And if you ask for pre-paid meters which we learnt should be given free to consumers, they insist that you must pay to get one. It is a terrible situation because we are now at the mercy of the distribution company as if no organisation is monitoring their activities.”
Also lamenting the situation, Sonter Teryila who lives in a room apartment in the High-Level area of the town described it as ‘crazy bills’.
He said, “JED people in the last three months have been charging me almost N18,,000 monthly. When the bills come, we usually complain and they will promise to address it but the following month they bring you something higher than the former.
“This is a clear case of exploitation. We noticed that these crazy bills started coming after their offices were locked up by the Benue Internal Revenue Service over the backlog of unpaid taxes. There is no justification for this. Except they are now telling us that electricity is not for the poor.”
Contacted, the Business Manager of JED Makurdi office, Mr Joseph Kwaghgba said, “several factors are responsible for the high bills and it includes the slight increase in the tariff. There is also a huge increment in power availability and consumption in Makurdi.
“We were consuming just about 13 megawatts in Makurdi in the time past, but now the consumption has gotten to almost 22,000 megawatts. And what it means is that the more the usage the more the charges.
“There is a tremendous improvement in power supply and we are doing almost 18 to 20 hours power supply and sometimes 24 hours, saying, ‘the more you enjoy supplying the higher the bill paid’
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Benue electricity consumers raise alarm over astronomical monthly bills from JED
