Group Welcomes Passage Of Bill Criminalising Estimated Billing
Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE) welcomes the passing of the bill criminalizing estimated billing by the House of Representatives. The bill was passed overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives.
Widespread rejection of estimated electricity billing is an indication of an exploitative policy that even the rich could not stomach. The Distribution Companies have perfected a system of load shedding supply and rejection of electricity load transmitted to it, which is anchored around estimated billing due to the pursuit of huge profit while electricity consumers are largely subjected to darkness.
CARE has been in the forefront alongside several other pro-people orgnisations in the long drawn battle to resist estimated billing and other forms of brazen exploitation in the power industry. CARE sent a delegation and position paper at the public hearing that took place on June 5, 2018 at the National Assembly. CARE and Edo Civil Society Organisation (EDOSCO) were the pro-consumer organisations that participated at the hearing but CARE was the only pro-consumer organization that participated at the investigative hearing that took place on June 27, 2018. CARE position paper and presentation vigorously opposed and rejected estimated billing and backed the bill that criminalises estimated billing.
‘At the public hearing, Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing and Mr. Dafe Akpeneye, a Commissioner in the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) opposed the bill and supported estimated billing. This shows clearly how the Buhari-led government is in an unholy alliance with the Distribution Companies and other power companies in the widespread brazen exploitation of electricity consumers.
‘Through the office of the Vice President, DISCOs were mandated to supply meters to Maximum Demand (MD) and peg the deadline on March 1, 2017. The directive was that DISCOs should not disconnect any MD electricity consumers based on estimated billing.
‘This is clear case of the Buhari-led federal government defending big business and abandoned the vast majority of electricity consumers. This directive led to the metering of many MD users and is a testament that the DISCOs will meter if directed to do so,’ the group stated.
CARE calls on the Senate to pass the bill speedily and if the President refuses assent, the House and Senate should override him. However, we warn the people that law alone cannot end exploitation of the power companies as it will require sustained mass actions of electricity consumers to resist the exploitations of the power companies. We also call Labour and pro-labour organisations to lead this resistance.
Placing electricity, which is one of the major sector of the economy in the hands of the private companies is a violation of Chapter 2 (Section 16) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) that mandates the major sectors of the economy to be publicly owned to avoid undermining of public interest and to shun concentration of too much wealth or the major means of production and exchange in the hands of few people. CARE demands that the power sector should be renationalized and placed under democratic control and management of workers and consumers in order to guarantee regular supply and forestall corrupt practices inefficiency and extortion.
