DISCO Disconnects Abuja Residents From National Grid

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), has disconnected Sabon Gari community in Mararaba, near Abuja, from the national grid for non-payment of bills by individual customers.
Chairman of the Community Residents Association, Mr Ismaila Mohammed, told newsmen on Thursday in Abuja that the disconnection was carried out since January 31.
Our source said  that the cables connecting the community’s step-down transformer to the grid were removed.
Describing the company’s action as unjustifiable, Mohammed wondered why the entire community should be disconnected over debts owed by individual customers.
“The AEDC has put us in blackout since January 31, and when we approached them, they said the community was not paying bills, “which is not true”.
“In this community, there are people using prepaid meters; there are several others on estimated and post-paid billing who are not indebted to AEDC.
“By disconnecting the entire community, the company is short-changing customers like us who are up to date in the payment of their electricity bills,’’ he said.
When contacted, spokesman of the AEDC, Mr Ahmed Shekarau, referred our source to the Mararaba  Area Manager, Mr Lameed Obadaki, who confirmed the general disconnection.
Obadaki said that the community was indebted to the company to the tune of N68 million.
He said that the debtors were in the majority, and efforts by the company to carry out targeted disconnection in the past had failed.
According to him, the debtors kept reconnecting themselves as soon as AEDC officials left their premises, hence the decision to cut off the entire community.
Recall that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had warned distribution companies (Discos) against blanket disconnection in communities, villages, local government areas and estates.
In a public announcement on May 31, 2016, the commission drew the attention of Discos to its Connection and Disconnection Procedures for Electricity Services Regulation, 2007.
“Electricity customers who pay their bills should not be disconnected via a mass disconnection of their community, block of flats, estate, and so on.
“Any mass disconnection carried out by the Discos in contravention of the provisions of the above regulation is illegal and should be reported to the commission,” NERC said.
Sections 5-6 of the regulation contain guidelines for the disconnection of only defaulting customers and not an entire community.