By Chioma Obinagwam
Babatunde Irukera, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Tuesday said it is inappropriate for electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to focus on tariff increase as the only way to increase efficiency.
Confiance News gathered from the FCCPC’s twitter feed.
“And so the DisCos, including Eko, the starting point is, you must invest. I am not even talking about investment in supply or distribution, you must invest in your collection.
“So long as you have fewer people paying for what most use, you will not find a cost reflective tariff. The answer cannot be burdening those few (who pay their bills) with more,” he argued.
He recalled that in 2015, the distribution companies came to an understanding with BPE that they would meter more aggressively.
“They said that over the next three years, they would… meter approximately 4.5 million people,” he stated.
He noted that despite promises made by the DisCos on metering, there is still vast majority of bills that are paid today by estimation.
He disclosed that 55 percent of consumers are still unmetered in the country.
“Any increase in tariff means that arbitrary billings would go up. Even if you are not billing them for more energy, you are billing them more for the same energy they are getting or not getting, as the case may be,” he pointed.
“It is the businessman’s responsibility to find a way to ensure that they are paid for the services they provide. It is not other consumers’ responsibility. And it is not even the government’s responsibility,” he noted.
