A PHCN employee at work in Ipaja, Lagos State| credits: Odutayo Odusanya
Electricity consumers have accused the Power Holding Company of Nigeria officials of deliberately avoiding reading meters so as to arbitrarily bill them on estimation.
But in a swift response, PHCN marketers blamed the failure to read such post paid meters on the lack of access.
Two recent letters received from Saturday PUNCH readers vividly illustrate the situation.
The first showed the price paid by some consumers in a bid to give PHCN marketers access to their building in Lagos.
Adekunle, a resident of No. 31A, Arigbanla Street, off Iyana Ipaja Road, Orile-Agege, said that one Wednesday afternoon last August, two men who claimed to be PHCN officials carted away four post-paid meters from the building.
He said the men, who visited the premises when all the adults had gone to work, successfully tricked the gateman into believing that they were from PHCN, and eventually made away with the meters.
He said, “But when we got back home and the children and gatemen narrated what happened, we quickly called the PHCN marketer in charge of our place (Dipo), he said no such action was taken by the PHCN office. Subsequently, we had to inform the Elere Divisional Police Station about the matter, but as it is, we have no meters.
“The implication is that we’re now on estimated billing. You can’t believe that at the end of September, the bill for my apartment went up to N10,000. This is really unfortunate.”
Meanwhile, in a sharp contrast, Mr. Eriunu Oluwaseun of House 15, C Close, 31 Road, FHA, Ipaja, suspected a deliberate failure by the PHCN marketer to read his post-paid meter, thus causing him extra expenses on electricity.
“The meter reading on my monthly bill has remained the same since February, but the monthly charge has skyrocketed. I’ve made several visits to the PHCN office, yet the situation has not improved. I’ve also called the marketer, Ashiru, several times on the phone but he keeps promising to correct the situation and yet it persists,” he said.
Responding to Oluwaseun’s complaint, the Principal Manager, Public Affairs, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Pekun Adeyanju, said that his meter was not accessible for PHCN marketers to read.
He said that security dogs stationed within the compound usually prevented PHCN officials from gaining access to read the meter, urging him to make his meter accessible.
“Our investigation revealed that there are about four big dogs in that premises, which makes it difficult for our marketers to gain access and read the meter. In fact, the Senior Manager Marketing, Akowonjo Business Unit personally visited the house on Sept. 25.
“The reading on the meter was only given to him by an occupant of the house. He could not enter the premises. This is however wrong as meter reading is supposed to be carried out by a PHCN employee. Please make your meter accessible. Your marketer is Segun Fasanmi,” Adeyanju wrote in response to our enquiry.
However, Saturday PUNCH investigations showed that the PHCN officials and their customers on post-paid meters could safety reach a consensus without jeopardising security.
The Public Affairs Officer, PHCN Sagamu Business Unit, Mr. Abel Osungbawaye, advised electricity consumers to make their meters accessible by not locating it within their apartments. He said that the only reason why meters would not be read is if the marketers could not gain access to it whenever they visited.
He said that even if the consumer was not home when marketers came around, he could call them to come and do the reading when he is available by using the phone number usually printed on the monthly electricity bill.
“Every month, marketers go round to distribute bills and read meters among others, so there is no evidence to prove that they deliberately fail to read a customer’s meter. In most cases, the meters are sited in parts of the house that are not readily accessible.
“They should locate the meters outside within the compound. They can also let the marketer know when they are available to have the reading taken; that is the essence of printing contact numbers on the bills. They are also free to complain about this at the customer care units.”
The Public Relations Officer, Ota Business Unit, Christie Ukpabio, gave consumers further advice on security and accessibility of PHCN officers to read meters.
Although Ukpabio reiterated the point on making meters accessible, she warned that care should be taken not to give unwanted persons equal access to the meters because of its conspicuous position.
She stressed the need for customers to always demand proper identification from unknown persons claiming to be employees of PHCN before allowing them to have access to their houses.
She said that these days, no one should allow a security lapse. “Insist that they show you their PHCN identity cards and if you are not convinced about what they are asking you to do, call the customer care number or the number on your bill to get clarification. That is the standard; customers should not take security for granted,” she said.
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Source : punchng[dot]com
