Ade, an entrepreneur living in Yaba, Lagos State, has been struggling to understand why the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) increased her monthly bill from less than N10,000 to an astronomical N36,135.
In September, she got a N113,957 bill for a period she was not home or using units.
The entrepreneur, who wants to be known on a first-name basis, told FIJ that she had never owed the distribution company at any point and was prompt with paying her monthly electricity bills until she replaced her old meter.
She said that the mysterious increase started in June when she received the bill in May. The bill for May was N36,135 — up from N7,032 in March and N8,595 in April.
“I emailed IKEDC to know why they increased my bill. I found that IKEDC had placed me on estimated billing. There was no notice of that, and I stay alone in a 2-bedroom apartment, so what am I using?” Ade told FIJ.
“My marketer told me I would get a response, but I never got one, and the bill was not adjusted,” she added.
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Ade said that IKEDC billed her N37,131 in July. She emailed the DisCo again but received no response.
When the issue repeated itself in August, she had to contact customer care despite her marketer assuring her he had done what was necessary and that her meter was not faulty.
Her first email to IKEDC
“The customer care said the problem was from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). According to them, NERC said my meter was obsolete, but I never got a notification for that. IKEDC then asked me to get a new meter, which I paid for in August. They told me it would be ready in two weeks, but I haven’t received it yet,” she said.
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“In September, I got another outrageous bill of N368,311. For crying out loud, I wasn’t even around. I went to a funeral, so how did I use the units? Their justification is that I’m on Band A. When I returned from the funeral, I found that my cable had been disconnected from the pole.
Response from IKEDC
“I went to the office at Igbobi, where one man told me to remain calm. But how can I? I have paid for a meter but have yet to receive it. I’ve gone to customer care more than four times, and they keep telling me it will be sorted out in due time.”
Her September bill
The September bill Ade got from IKEDC showed N113,957.53 in current charges and N274,354.44 in the previous balance, her balance accumulating from previous months’ estimated charges.
When FIJ called IKEDC on Wednesday, they refused to comment. The DisCo asked FIJ to tell their customer to contact them. When Ade did, they apologised and said they would fix the issue but did not specify when.
The post IKEDC Bills Lagos Entrepreneur N113,957 for September When She Travelled, Didn’t Use Units appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.