Residents of Nasarawa State protesting outrageous electricity bills.
Cecilia Onah, Lafia
Residents of Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, have lamented the outrageous estimated bills being meted on consumers of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company in the state.
The residents who are seeking review of the outrageous bills, said despite the recent inauguration of the Akurba 330KVA substation in the state, they were still experiencing black outs in their home.
Speaking with newsmen on Monday, a resident of Lafia Local Government Area, Rayyanu Bala, who spoke on behalf of the others, told our correspondent that after the inauguration of the project in February 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari, the AEDC increased its bills but stopped supplying adequate electricity to the masses.
While lamenting that the sufferings occasioned by the poor electricity supply were unbearable, he urged the Federal and State governments to look into the issue and proffer a lasting solution to the situation in the fastest possible time.
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He said, “Since President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Akurba 330KVA substation in February 2022, we have been suffering from total black out in Lafia and other surrounding areas.
“AEDC in June last year migrated us to tariff BAND A from tariff BAND D, which made monthly bills jump by almost 100 per cent without commensurate supply of the electricity in the state.
“Any consumer on tariff BAND A is supposed to enjoy electricity for 20 hours and above in a day, but that is not happening in Nasarawa State.
“The exploitation by AEDC is a jeopardy for us because we record more days without electricity than the days we use to have electricity.
“So, we feel there is an urgent need to bring to the notice of the government at all levels, our bitter experiences and unbecoming attitude of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Lafia office. We are appealing that the government should intervene in this matter as soon as possible because the challenges we are facing with the AEDC are enormous.”
As of the time of filing this report, efforts made by our correspondent to get the AEDC’s Manager, Cooperate Communications, Rotimi Omisore, to react to the demands of the protesters, proved abortive as phone calls put across to his mobile line did not connect.
