A bill to criminalize the use of ‘estimated billing’ in
the calculation of electricity consumed and to be paid for by consumers
by Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies has passed first
reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill which was sponsored by the House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila,
contains sections criminalizing the arbitrary estimation of energy
consumed by consumers who have not been supplied pre-paid meters by the
electricity distribution companies. In a press statement, Gbajabiamila’s media aide, Olanrewaju
Smart, quoted the lawmaker as saying the bill was necessitated by
complaints from constituents across the country who felt regulations by
the executive had failed to arrest the highhandedness of electricity
distribution companies.
Furthermore, Gbajabiamila, who represents Surulere I. Federal
Constituency, said the legislation would resolve the unfavorable
technical manipulation of the reading pattern of existing pre-paid
meters, which have led to incommensurate calculation of purchased
electricity credit. The bill recommends six months imprisonment for any official of an
electricity distribution company found guilty of illegally disconnecting
a customer or failing to provide a pre-paid meter for a client after 30
days of application. Gbajabiamila guaranteed that the legislators would push the bill until it is signed into law.
Source: Sahara Reporters
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