‘From N15,000 to N64,000’: Imo Residents Lament EEDC’s Electric Bill Hike

Imo State residents have complained about the arbitrary hikes in electricity bills by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) since May, without proportional electricity supply to show for it.

In a video circulating on X, Imo State residents are seen gathered in front of EEDC protesting the exploitation.

“We request to see the manager of this company, the bill is too much,” someone in the video said.

“How can we go from N15,000 to N64,000 in Imo state?

“We can’t afford to pay it, how much is our salary? We cannot pay it! Let them come down and address us.”

FIJ spoke to Ihediora Chukwuma, a resident who shuttles between Owerri and Abuja and maintains a property in Owerri, Imo state, on Band B.

Chukwuma told FIJ that the electricity is distributed by EEDC and most properties are billed on the ‘estimated billing system’. The EEDC assumes it is supplying a fixed amount of kilowatts and it bills customers accordingly.

He stated that the bill arrived every month regardless of the supply, so residents could spend a week without electricity supply and the bill would show up the same.

“I maintain a property in Abuja and Owerri. Yet for some reason, my electricity bill in Owerri is way higher than in Abuja. Yet in Abuja I’m on Band A, and the property in Owerri is Band B.”

“At the moment the minimum wage is N70,000 and I’m spending N61,000 on electricity in Owerri. That’s absolutely not sustainable.”

Chukwuma told FIJ that around February/March, the bill was around N35,000 and N41,000 respectively, but it suddenly shot up to N61,000 in June. When he got the bill for July, he was to pay N74,000.

“I’ve been paying N35,000 per month, suddenly I started paying N61,000”

He mentioned that when they started getting the new, more expensive bills, a company named ‘Transpower’ was written on their invoices.

“I don’t know what agreement EEDC has with Transpower, but whatever agreement they have is what has caused this dramatic increase,” Chukwuma said.

“It’s not justified at all. You’ve not increased power supply to the communities, you’ve not increased the quality of electricity, but you’re increasing bills. Sometimes we don’t have light for full days, a week. N75,000 is minimum wage, and I’m paying the same amount for power.”

He also mentioned that EEDC had refused to give residents prepaid meters because the estimated billing system gave them the opportunity to overcharge them.

When FIJ called and sent an SMS text to EEDC on Saturday. EEDC had yet to respond at press time.

The post ‘From N15,000 to N64,000’: Imo Residents Lament EEDC’s Electric Bill Hike appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.