The Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has of late engaged in acts that depict total lack of decency and smacks of wanton illegality in the way and manner it has gone out to mobilize funds from the residents of Benin City in Edo state.
This writer witnessed one of such.
The agents of BEDC moved from house to house checking their Pre-paid meters and, in this particular case at a residence on Doda Street, Uselu Benin City whose occupant recently purchased a One Thousand Naira ( N1,000.00) token recharge the agents checked the meter and confirmed the state of the meter to be in order but promised to come back.
On their return a few days later, they claimed the occupants were not purchasing tokens ( paying) enough as much as they expected and thus cut the wires that supplied power to the apartment with an instruction that they should go and purchase Ten Thousand Naira (N10,000.00) recharge for the meter before the wires would be released to them. And I wondered what on earth these guys meant by that!
Are users not expected to manage the units they purchase to power their apartments as much as they possibly can? Why would BEDC be insisting I must purchase N10,000.00 worth of units when I may not be able to afford such and despite regular recharges?
My questions are, when and how come BEDC now has the power or legal status to determine how much power each household using prepaid meter and regularly recharging same must consume within certain period. Why would the wires connecting a household which regularly recharges be summarily disconnected and people be forced to cough out various sums ( as in this case N10,000.00) to pay BEDC for power that is not yet needed. Does this not amount to daylight robbery and recklessness for BEDC through its agents to summarily cut people’s lines on a prepaid meter even when they are recharging.
I need all Nigerians to join me in asking these questions.