‘NERC Has Not Fixed Pre-Paid Meters Fees’

A Commissioner in Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC),  Mr Eyo Ekpo,  has said that the Commission has  not fixed new fees for pre-paid meters.

Ekpo told journalists in Lagos that customers might not pay up to N25, 000 for pre-paid meters.

“I hope that people will not have to pay as high as N25,000 for a single phase pre-paid meter.

“We have not fixed any amount for pre-paid meters yet, but we are meeting on April 26 to hear from the committee in charge of proposing how to supply the meters to Nigerians.

He said “immediately approval is given on the mode of supply, we will publish the process and guideline on the way to get the pre-paid meters”.

Ekpo said that NERC would propose standard guidelines that would ensure that nobody breached the process of issuing the pre-paid meters.

Meanwhile,  President, Residents Association, in Lagos Mr Felix Egbamuno, has said that mass complaints over PHCN bills would abate with the supply of pre-paid meters to every home.

He said that the PHCN had not issued pre-paid meters to many of its customers who applied for them.

He said that a situation whereby PHCN was merely estimating bills was not good enough for the company’s image, saying that energy consumption should be based on calculation.

“How did PHCN come to certain figures with regards to bills?

“The old meters are not working; consumers are not even consulted before estimates are made about energy consumption.

“It is unheard of today that homes are billed for energy consumed on estimation that is manually done or guessed.

“It is only when every house uses a pre-paid meter that Nigerians will stop criticising PHCN,“ he said.