Dozens of customers of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) in Anambra state, besieged the company’s business office in Awka, to protest epileptic power supply and excessive tariff by the outfit.
The protesters under the umbrella “Zik’s Avenue Business Owners Association, Awka” said that their businesses were grounding due to poor power supply.
Vice Chairman of the traders, Ikechukwu Okafor, stated that besides the poor power supply, the company officials issued them with excessive tariffs through estimated bills and fixed charges.
He noted that there was a period some parts of the area did not have electricity for about seven months, yet business operators in the affected areas were issued with bills during the period.
According to him, they were compelled to embark on the protest because some officials of the company came to disconnect the electricity facilities in their area.
His words: “The management of the company should come and restore electricity in our area and provide us with pre-paid metres so that we can pay only for the electricity we enjoy,”
Another protester, Mr Joseph Akabueze, who said he has been in darkness for seven months, accused staff of the company of demanding N5,000 fixed charge from him or risk being disconnected.
He said “I petitioned the management against the charge but they still insisted that I pay the amount otherwise they would disconnect me from their services,” he alleged.
Bonvera Ndubuisi, who was part of the prostest expressed total disappointment that no staff of the company came out to address them.
Reacting, to the allegations and protest, spokesman of the company, Ositadinma Ugwuafor, denied the claims that electricity was not supplied to Ziks Ave in the past seven months. He alleged that the protest was not because there is no power supply; “they came because we went to collect revenue for the electricity consumed” he stated.
The company spokesman however, called on customers in the state to always ensure prompt payment of electricity bills, saying that that is the only way the company will remain in business.
