By Shina Abubakar Osogbo

OSOGBO – Members of the licensed electrical contractors and electricity consumers in Osun State thronged the streets of the State capital protesting against Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, over what they called “fraudulent billing”.

The License Electrical Contractor of Nigeria, LECAN, and affected electricity consumers in the state thronged the streets of Oke-Baale with placards bearing inscriptions such as “Enough of IBEDC Exploitation on transformers”, “IBEDC staff should stop taking electricity contracts”, Stop Delay of Account Generation”, “Enough of Supplying sub-standard meters”, “Make Meters available to all customers”, among others.

Addressing newsmen at the Oke-Baale roundabout, LECAN Chairman, Mr Kayode Adebayo, charged the Federal Government to provide more stringent policy regulations against DISCOs to stop unnecessary exploitation of the masses.

His words, “IBEDC fraudulently exploit customers as those given new accounts were usually charged a minimum debit of N100,000 on newly created accounts even before joining the grid. This unknown debt would even be transferred into the customer’s prepaid meters, thereby paying for service never rendered, contrary to the Electricity Act.

“Also, some customers, whose electricity meters required that their cards be submitted for metre upgrade, IBEDC have refused to return their cards, which is Illegal. We are also of the opinion that the Band system is not working, therefore, the concept of Band A is a Fraud.

“We also challenge IBEDC Workers that the Electricity Act does not permit them to take up the role of electrical contractors, thereby exploiting residents who are desperate to buy/replace or repair damaged transformers. In some cases, installed transformers are not powered because IBEDC are not given adequate ‘PR’ to connect such transformers to the national grid.

“We thereby declare that this Act of Fraud is enough and demand that IBEDC Workers should stop unnecessary exploitation of innocent customers thereby inflicting hardship on the people in this period of economic downturn”.

A consumer who spoke at the protest, Elder Michael Adebayo, described his experience with the DISCO as very irritating, saying he was billed immediately after he applied for an electricity account without being connected.

Reacting, Osun IBEDC spokesperson, Kikelomo Owoeye disclosed that the claims of the protesters is not true, saying IBEDC understand their roles and that of other stakeholders in the sector.

“Contrary to some claims, customers are not billed before connection. However, instances where electricity is used during building construction may result in billing after the customer consents to connection through the submitted form. Such cases can be addressed through available resolution and adjustment windows.

“IBEDC remains committed to transparency, customer service, and regulatory compliance, and encourages customers to engage through official channels for any concerns or clarifications”, she stated.