In mid November, a senior official of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission informed the country that there would be a downward review of electricity charges because of the public outcry. The following week, another official countered him, saying there wouldn't be any review of the charges. He also lectured us on how to conserve energy and cut cost on our consumption. He told us to use some gadgets when many people are not using energy in our zone. I'm still studying the practicability of that advice. He asked us to iron our clothes in bulk and many other energy saving methods. I was surprised at their deceit and insincerity. They refused to address the issue of crazy bills that PHCN sends without reading meters. They also refused to talk about erratic and irregular supply of energy, which we are forced to pay for. They refused to talk on their inability to provide prepaid meters as directed by the government. My own experience will surely interest the public because it has exposed their hypocritical lies. I migrated to prepaid meter in July 2012, and at the end of that month, my total consumption was less than N1,000. Early in August 2012, PHCN brought a bill of N12,701 for the same July 2012 from the marketer at the undertaking office. I took the bill to the district office, where they told me to ignore the bill and I did. Since then, my consumption has never risen to N1,000 in any month. I think we can all see what we have all been coping with by paying for service not enjoyed.
Yinusa Adisa, 24, Oduwole Road, Abule Odu, Egbeda Lagos, yinusaadisa@gmail.com
