…As Regularly Commission Seeks Consumer Protection

As the power outage in Anambra State persists, electricity consumers in the area have refused to use the estimated billing, demanding the issuance of prepaid meters from First Power, the official distributor of electricity in the area.

This is coming as the Anambra State Electricity Regulatory Commission (ASERC ) insists on the protection of consumers.

Speaking on behalf of the consumers at the Public Consultation on the draft electricity regulation, the Coordinator of Electricity Consumers Network (CECN) Comerade Osita Obi ;

“The idea of doing estimated billing is unacceptable to us, the consumers, because there are no laid down parameters to determine how much we are expected to pay at the end of the month”

“Again, people travel without using power, and at the end of the month, you come with estimated bills which cannot be substantiated ”

“But with prepaid meters, just like the communication firms, one can be comfortable with the payment, and so we no longer want that idea of estimated billing”, he said.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of Anambra State Electricity Regulatory Commission, ASERC, Prof Frank Nwoye Okoye, stated that one of the aims of setting up this Commission is to protect the consumers, while the draft regulations would shape the state electricity market in the area.

He announced that the Commission is in the process of making power available, affordable and ensuring quality and steady supply.

“In this modern world and technology, the most critical measure of progress is the availability of electricity ”

Okafor noted that the program is a state-wide assignment aimed at interfacing with consumers and the power distribution bodies across the four major cities in Anambra state.