The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • DisCos short-change us, customers allege

    Electricity consumers are    accusing distribution companies  (DIsCos) of short-changing them by not providing them meters.

    According to them,  firms such as Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Ikeja Electric (IK), Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and others have refused to provide them meters, despite consistent demands.

    A customer, Mrs Florence Omotosho, said she suffered pains in the hands of EKEDC officials.

    According to her, the firm asked her to pay N50,000 before it can provide her pre-paid meters, adding that the  company frequent her Ebute-Metta residence to collect bills at the end of the month, and in the process disconnect her light.

    ‘’Failure of Eko DisCo to provide  pre-paid meters to customers under its jurisdiction is having untold effects on its residence.  I paid N6,000 bills monthly to the firm, coupled with the fact that we ( residents) do not get light always. Often times, the firm disconnects our light whenever we fail to give them money, which they cannot account for. How long will they continue to subject us to pains, caused by power outage?  How long are we going to pay estimated bills; the bills that do not reflect the volume of electricity, we are using?” She asked

    She urged the firm to reduce the economy pangs on the consumers by providing them meters, arguing that consumers cannot grow financially under this condition.

    Another consumer, Mr Babatunde Oyelami, said the issue of non-availability of meters is affecting users of electricity.

    According to him, Ikeja Electric has refused to meter many customers, despite making several attempts to get the product.

    He said the firm charges him between N10,000 to N12,500 monthly, adding that the issue has serious implications on his wellbeing.

    The EKEDC’s spokesman, Mr Godwin Ihemudia, said the issue of metering customers is on-going,  adding that many consumers in Ebute-Metta, Lekki, Ajah and other areas will get meters soon.

     

    He said: ‘’ Our  roll on plans is on course. We would provide meters to customers district by district, compared to other DisCos. Very soon, the issue of payment of estimated  billing would be a thing of the past.’’

    Also, his counterpart in Ikeja Electric, Felix Ofolue, said efforts are being made to put an end to the issue of payment of crazy billings by the customers.

    He urged customers to exercise patience, stressing that the firm is working to ensure prompt distribution of meters to its customers.

     

     

  • Miners: More to face sanction on illegal operations

    The Federal Government’s resolve to end illegal mining will restore sanity into the industry, as well as help contribute its quota to national development, the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) President, Sani Shehu, has said.

    He said the development would help the operators to maximise their potential and further compete with their colleagues in other climes, adding that people are afraid of investing in the sector because they are not sure of getting returns on their investments.

    He said the decision by the government to clampdown on erring operators in the solid minerals sector is timely in view of the efforts by the government to diversify the economy from oil.

    At a stakeholder’s forum in Lagos, Shehu said the idea would rejuvenate the sector and make it more focused. The forum was organised at the instance of the Ministry of Solid Minerals.

    He said: “We are going to see more clampdowns on illegal mining activities by the Federal Government this year, following their arrest and prosecution of local and foreign illegal miners last year. The action is in line with the Mining and Minerals Act. We want the government to also apply the carrot and then the stick approach as being taught in management studies.”

    He said the government has provided interventions for the artisans and other small operators, advising the government to arrest illegal miners and other operators, who fail to comply with its directives in the area of using funds that was given to them well.

    “Those illegal miners who don’t want to accept these interventions should be arrested if they don’t want to key into government‘s intervention programmes. Now that government has made all these provisions they should take advantage of them,” he added.

    On the sector’s prospects, he said the country has all it takes to be one of the leading mining destinations in the world based on its abundant mineral resources.

    According to him, the mining is an emerging business destination in Africa as evident by the recognition given to it internationally, urging investors to make use of the opportunities in the sector.

    He urged the government to make more funds available for the Ministry of Solid Minerals, stressing that the idea would enable it perform its statutory responsibilities for the growth of the sector.

    He said the fight against illegal mining would succeed, once there is enough money for the ministry. He said the government released 40 per cent budgetary allocations to the sector in 2016 and last year, advising the government to improve on it allocation, now that the economy has come out of the recession.

    He urged the government to provide more funds for the sector, especially as it has generated more revenue from the customs and agencies in recent times.

  • Iran’s LNG exports jump as China, U.S. lock horns

    Iran’s National Gas Company is intent on raising the country’s share in the global gas trade as the Islamic Republic is shifting its focus to international markets.

    Iranian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports reportedly rose to around 500,000 metric tons in April as this month’s shipments were 14 percent up from last month’s figure, to bring this year’s total shipments to 1.86 million metric tons.

    According to shipping sources, cited by Iranian media, most of the April cargoes are again bound for China.

    China’s Oriental Energy Company (OE), loaded 34,000 tons of propane and 14,000 tons of butane supplied by Iranian Gas Commercial Co., aboard an LNG tanker at Iran’s Gulf port of Assaluyeh, which is scheduled to arrive at China’s Qinzhou on Wednesday.

    Another ship is due to bring 33,000 tons of propane and 11,000 tons of butane to Ningbo on May 12.

    The shipments of Iranian natural gas come as OE was recently ordered by a Texas state district court to pay $523.8 million in damages to Germany’s Mabanaft following an LPG contract dispute.

    The court ruled that OE had breached its contract by failing to provide a letter of credit ahead of its first scheduled shipment of propane from the US Gulf.

    Beijing also plans a hefty, 25-percent increase in import duties on US propane in a retaliatory move which, if implemented, would add a new twist to the US-China trade war. This could shift China’s import focus to the Middle East, including Iran.

    In the meantime, Iran is pressing ahead with its natural gas shipments to Indonesia, with 33,000 tons of propane and 11,000 tons of butane arriving in the country on April 19.

    A shipment of 44,000 tons of propane and butane is due to arrive on Wednesday and another 45,000 tons are slated to arrive at the Indonesian port of Tanjung later this week.

    Other destinations for Iranian gas exports are India, Thailand and possibly Kenya.

  • Russian nuclear energy firm eyes Africa

    Russian nuclear giant, Rotarom is in talks with Nigeria, Zambai and South Africa   on how to develop nuclear energy.

    In a statement made available to The Nation, Zambia visited Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant (NVNPP), owned by Rosatom.

    Zambia’s Head of delegation to Russia, Patrick Matibini, said: “Power is the lifeline of the economy. Most of the power in Zambia is produced from hydro, which is dependent on the nature and the rainfall. In the last few years, unfortunately, we had very little rainfall. This has affected the amount of water in dams and the generation of the power.

    “And that’s why we are exploring different forms of energy, namely nuclear power. At the NVNPP, I was very impressed with the magnitude of the investment: the buildings, the equipment, the size of the human power, and of course, the amount of power itself – over 2400 megawatts (Mw) at the new units. In Zambia, we will go a long way in our meeting our challenges for the provision of electricity.”

    He said Zambia was building a centre where research on nuclear energy would be made.

    ‘’We (in Zambia) are planning to build a centre for the development of nuclear science and technology. The centre will provide opportunities for the development of science, agriculture, healthcare and education. We also have plans to increase our cooperation in the nuclear power industry.

    ‘’Rosatom is willing to provide maximum support to Zambian partners in large-scale projects in peaceful use of nuclear technology,” said Evgeny Pakermanov, president, Rusatom Overseas.

  • Why contracts fail, by Seplat

    SEPLAT Petroleum Supply Chain Management (SCM) General Manager Olusola Ogunbanwo has identified the reasons contracts fail in the country.

    He listed these as poor monitoring, corruption, political interference and inconsistent government policies.

    Others, he said, were change of government, bureaucracy, lack of continuity, prices fluctuation, inadequate planning, payments delays and release of funds.

    Speaking at the conference by Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) in Lagos, Ogunbanwo, decried the high rate of contract failures, noting that this was affecting government revenue and the people.

    Presenting a paper titled: ‘’Impact of post-contract evaluation appraisal on the economy’’, the engineer , citing figures, said last year 12,000 federal projects were abandoned, in 2015, 56,000 projects worth N12trillion were abandoned while public projects worth N8trillion were abandoned between 1966 and 2012.

    He wondered why the problem was mainly in the public service domain and not the private sector.

    Ogunbanwo said the solution to the problem was on proper evaluation of contracts.‘’The evaluation of contract performance is essential to determine if the planned improvements have been achieved and to learn lessons for future contracts/projects,’’ he adding that the government and its agencies should be alive to their responsibilities.

    He charged procurement officers to do their work as professionals and live by the rules.

    He warned that his suggestions would not work, if the following indices were in place. “Lack of resources with the right skills set – generic technical skill like negotiation, project management, risk management, etc as well as soft interpersonal skills, change in government, frequent turnover of contracting team members without proper hand over, inadequate documentation – keeping track of costs, risks, etc, poor communication – expectations/decisions  made not cascaded to stakeholders and much attention is given to deal making, but little or none to managing the contract/project.

    The Shell Petroleum  Development Company of Nigeria Limited Senior Manager, Wells and Projects, Arinze Oduah, who spoke on “ Improving value for money (VFM) in Nigeria’s capital expenditure project,’’ suggested, among others, the full operation of the PPA 2007, including establishing the National Council on Public Procurement, expanding Bureau of Public Procurement’s (BPP’s) oversight from ‘due process’ to end-to-end supply chain management, and strengthened to influence state and local governments through compelling outcomes and positive examples.

  • OPEC deal: Members, non-members achieve 149% conformity level

    The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members including Nigeria  has achieved new level of 149 per cent compliance with voluntary production/ reduction in  oil output,  aimed at stemming oil supply glut and price crash.

    Also, non-OPEC membes have achieved similar feat.

    The OPEC/non-OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) at its eighth meeting held in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, announced that, based on the report of the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) for last month, OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries have achieved a conformity level of 149 per cent with their voluntary production adjustments, the highest level so far.

    The JMMC was established following OPEC’s 171st Conference Decision of November 30, 2016, and the the Declaration of Cooperation made at the joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries’ Ministerial Meeting held on December 10, 2016 at which 11 (now 10) non-OPEC oil producing countries cooperated with the 13 (now 14) OPEC Member Countries in a concerted effort to accelerate the stabilisation of the global oil market through voluntary adjustments in total production of around 1.8 million barrels per day.

    The resulting Declaration, which came into effect on  January 1, 2017, was for six months. The second joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries’ Ministerial Meeting, held on  May 25, 2017, decided to extend the voluntary production adjustments for another nine months commencing July 1, 2017.

    At the third joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries’ Meeting, held last November 30, it was agreed to amend the Declaration of Cooperation so that it will take effect for the entirety of the year.

    Once again, participating countries have demonstrated unwavering dedication to achieving the rebalancing of the global oil market, as demonstrated by the high conformity level of 149 per cent. Their collective efforts continue to yield positive results, with market fundamentals being solid.

    Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) commercial stock levels have been adjusted from a peak of 3.12 billion barrels in July 2016 to 2.83 billion barrels last month, corresponding to a drop of 300 million barrels. Nevertheless, it was noted that the current commercial stocks remain above levels seen before the market downturn. The high conformity level has been validated by a diverse range of reporting agencies and media outlets.

    The JMMC tasked the secretariat to look into different metrics, with an in-depth analysis of addressing larger uncertainties in the market.

    The JMMC urged participating countries to remain focused on and, where necessary, intensify their efforts on the basis of the core principles of transparency, fairness and equity, which are central to the “Declaration of Cooperation.”

    The JMMC noted assuring statements by Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya and Venezuela and expressed its satisfaction with Iraq and Kazakhstan’s expression of support for further improving their conformity levels.

    Given the ongoing transformative impact which the “Declaration of Cooperation” has on the global oil market, the JMMC will continue to think through further means of strengthening the Cooperation.

    JMMC also thanked Khalid A. Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the JMMC for his hospitality, as well as paying tribute those involved from Saudi Arabia for arranging the meeting.

    The next JMMC Meeting is scheduled to be held on June 21 at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, Austria.

  • Quality education key to industry devt, say Wabote, Ezekwesili

    The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote and former Education Minister, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, have harped on the importance of quality education in capacity and national development.

    They spoke at the Oil and Gas Trainers Association’s (OGTAN’s) first National Education Summit in Lagos.

    The NCDMB chief in his paper entitled: “Sustaining local content through quality education and training,” stressed the need to domicile the production of educational materials used at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

    Quoting data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), he said  about five million pupils are enrolled in primary schools yearly while the total population in all the primary schools is about 24 million.

    He added: “Twenty-four million pupils mean that we should be producing at least 50 million pencils every year in our country. Imagine the number of employment generated if this is the case and the retained value if such endeavor is done in-country. We need about two million computers every year just for our secondary and university students. These are just some of the opportunities that could help booster our local content practice. There are much more from shoes to uniforms and the rest. That is the reason we have always advocated sectorial linkages to other sectors of the economy, such as Information Communication Technology (ICT), power, and construction if we truly want to deepen our local content practice.”

    He explained that there are five key parameters required for sustainable local content practice, listing some of them to include the existence of a regulatory framework to specify the roles and expectations of stakeholders in the implementation process and capacity building of local manufacturing, infrastructural development and human capacity.

    Other necessary parameters include periodic gap analysis to determine gaps that are needed to be closed in the areas of skills, facilities and infrastructure, research and development and the provision of funding and incentives to attract new investments and keep existing businesses afloat where required.

    Dwelling on the Board’s Human Capacity Development programme, the Executive Secretary said the Board had put in place “the 60-20-20 principle in which 60 percent of the Board’s and industry’s training resources and efforts would be devoted to providing young Nigerians with specialised skills they need to secure employment. Twenty percent will be geared towards improving the productivity of personnel while another 20 percent of spend will be used for training on soft skills.

    ‘’Under the new strategy, beneficiaries will be provided with qualitative skills and international certifications that will position them for employment within and outside Nigeria.”

    Delivering the keynote address, the former Minister for Education Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili insisted that the oil and gas industry cannot make a positive contribution to the economy without focusing on human capacity development. “The take-off points of countries’ development,’’ she said, ‘’are connected to when they enhanced the capabilities of their citizens.”

    She underscored the need to accelerate the pace of implementing the Nigerian Content Act and focused on outcomes that are measurable. “We must measure performance against set targets,” she said.

    Mrs Ezekwesili, who is also a former Solid Minerals minister and  World Bank Vice President, averred that the structure of the Nigerian and world economy had changed, hence education policy needed to change to reflect the new realities.

    “The policy makers must anticipate where the world is going. Education must enable us build a society where our people can compete globally. Artificial intelligence and simulation data are the big things today. The world will not wait for our oil,” she said.

    At the event, OGTAN also conferred the Local Content Development Achievement on Wabote in recognition of his achievements in less than two years in office.

    OGTAN President, Dr. Mayowa Afe, said NCDMB has exceeded its targets in Nigerian Content Act  implementation and contributed immensely to the development of youths.

    Accepting the award, the Executive Secretary praised the Board’s workers for the successes he had attained, noting that they cooperated and bought into his vision.

    He challenged the workers on hardwork and innovation, adding that there is a lot work to be done to deepen the implementation of Local Content practice.

    “How can we benefit all sectors of the economy? How can we impact the military and help them domesticate their clothing and hardware?”

    He said a lot of progress was being made in the implementation, and challenged every stakeholder to use their sphere of influence to make positive contributions to  local content development.

  • Shell gets 12-year $40-100/bbl operational benchmark

    Royal Dutch Shell has pegged its operational outlook at between $40 and $100 per barrel of oil from this year to 2030.  It however noted that prices could move above or below this range.

    In its 2017 Energy Transition Report, the oil giant said: “Given this range of outlook, we consider a range of between $40 and $100 per barrel of oil till 2030 to be likely. We have used our assumptions about the future cost of supply (the price at which it makes economic sense to produce resources) as the floor for our range.

    “Prices could move above or below this range. However, when oil prices fall, levels of industry investment tend to decline, which could lead to reduced production. Eventually, higher prices could be needed to support new investment in production to meet demand.

    “We, therefore, think it is unlikely that oil prices would remain at the lower end of our price range for several years. For comparison, the average Brent price for the last five years has been around $70 per barrel. The International Energy Agency (IEA’s) most rapid transition scenario – the Sustainable Development Scenario – indicates an average oil price of $68 per barrel in the period to 2030. The IEA’s Current Policies Scenario, that models current and announced energy policies, indicates an average price of $90 per barrel for the same period.”

    He continued:“Today, around 60 per cent of our Integrated Gas portfolio is linked to oil prices. Based on our view of possible future oil prices, we consider a range of between $6 and $12 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) to 2030 for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be a plausible price for Asian markets, where we sell around 60 per cent of our LNG.”

    Considering sensitivity to oil prices, Shell said: “Assuming we meet the conditions in our operational plans, especially with regards to production and costs, we estimate that to 2027, a $10 per barrel change in oil prices would be expected to have a roughly $6 billion impact per year on our cash flow from operations. This is an indicative estimate and not a prediction.

    “Based on this assumption, if the oil price fell from around $65 per barrel today to $40 per barrel moneyof-the-day, our cash flow from operations would be expected to decrease by $15 billion per year.

    “Similarly, if the oil price rose to $100 per barrel money-of-the-day, our cash flow from operations would be expected to rise by $21 billion per year.

    “In addition to the resilience of our cash flow from operations, we are also managing the resilience of our organic free cash flow by actively managing the upper levels of our expected capital investment.

    “The capital investment levels included in our business plan offer sufficient flexibility to be reduced by $5 billion to 10 billion per year without materially impacting the long term sustainability of our business.

    “Our financial framework could sustain a potential reduction of up to $15 billion per year in organic free cash flow, according to our estimates. Some of the ways we could respond to this shortfall include reducing capital investment to below $25 billion, further reducing operational expenditure, increasing our levels of debt and accelerating divestments.

    “If prices were to remain below the bottom of our range for more than three to five years, an outcome we think unlikely, we would consider making further strategic, portfolio and financial framework choices to remain financially resilient.

    “Conversely, in periods of high oil and gas prices we would use the excess organic free cash flow to strengthen our balance sheet and consider share buybacks.”

    According to the Report, Shell is stress testing its portfolio to assess its financial resilience in the short and medium term to 2030, adding that it looks the sensitivity of its cash flow to changes in oil prices, and to changes in the cost of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. “We expect that the risks associated with the energy transition will ultimately be reflected in the price of oil and gas, and therefore this is the basis for stress testing our portfolio.

    “Our scenarios show a range of possible outcomes for the energy system based on factors including growth in demand, the development of new technologies, world politics and government policy,” it added.

  • NNPC advocates R&D for local content growth

    The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has advocated research and development (R&D), to boost local content initiatives in the country.

    He said the sector must conduct research in areas such as oil production and exploration, fabrication, building of plants for the use of oil firms and other activities, which require utmost contributions of Nigerians.

    He spoke at the first National Education Summit 2018 titled: “Sustaining Local Content through Quality Education and Training’’, organised by the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) in Lagos.

    Represented at the event by the Nigerian Engineering Technical Company, (NETCO) Managing Director, Mr. Silky Aliyu, Baru urged operators to engage in cross-fertilsation of ideas in order to discover areas of improvement as regards the deployment of local content skills. He  stressed that there are diverse areas where operators can use their knowledge and experience for the betterment of the industry without necessarily looking for expertise outside the country.

    He decried a situation where graduates of petroleum engineering, geology and allied fields from Nigerian universities are unable to demonstrate huge capacity. He urged stakeholders, including the government, to develop a curriculum that is both academic and practical for the growth of the students.

    When this happens, he said, it will not be difficult for the sector to harness the potentials in the local content policy for growth.

    Also, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Executive Secretary, Simbi Wabote, said the country would help repatriate billions of dollars lost to capital flight once the stakeholders work towards  developing local initiatives in the country.

    He advised universities and other institutions to try and prepare students for employment, stressing that the job market is saturated and requires only people, who are ready to demonstrate competency in any fields they belong to.

    “Local content development cuts across various sectors. Be it engineering, oil and gas, sciences, among others, locals are expected to use their depth of knowledge for growth.  In Nigeria, the oil and gas is in need of local experts, who can demonstrate the skills that are being demonstrated by their foreign colleagues and bring about growth of the economy,” he added.

    The Conference Chairman, Dr (Mrs) Obiageli Ezekwesili, said schools are lacking in the area of training students to meet the demands of their work. She advised that oil and gas is a field that requires thorough training of its workers in order to deliver results for the industry.

    Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, said there is no curriculum in place that suits day-to-day demands of sectors such as oil and gas, power and others, urging education experts to work with private sector operators to record growth.

  • Consumers knock DisCos for excess billing, poor performance

    It was a no-holds-barred talk in Lagos when customers hit the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) hard for giving them (consumers) outrageous bills without commensurate or power supply. Some customers called for a review of the power sector privatisation as, the DisCos, according to them, lacked the capacity and competency to handle power.

    The event was the hearing of complaints and petitions from various customers sent to the House of Representatives and anchored by the House Ad hoc committee on Electricity Customers’ Complaints with representatives of the DisCos in the Southwest geopolitical zone and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Unfortunately, Ekiti State customers covered by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) did not have their service provider present as it is located in Benin, Southsouth. However, The Nation learnt that they chose to come to Lagos instead of Port Harcourt as Lagos is closer to them.

    The ad hoc committee chairman, Hon. Israel Ajibola Famurewa, said: “We have received a lot of complaints, petitions from Nigerians about outrageous billing and poor services rendered by the DisCos. It has got to a stage that if the House doesn’t do something about the matter, it may lead to a breakdown of law and people may take laws into their hands.

    “The House in its wisdom constituted this committee to interface with the consumers, DisCos and the regulatory body (NERC) and find lasting solutions to the problems. We had an interactive session with some stakeholders in Abuja and decided to have proper interactions with consumers, DisCos and NERC in different geopolitical zones. We have started with Lagos in Southwest, from there to Enugu in the Southeast, Port Harcourt in South-south, Yola in the Northeast, Kano in the Northwest, Nasarawa in the Northcentral before we have a proper public hearing in Abuja.

    “At the end of this exercise, hopefully we believe, I will tender our report in the House. We will look at the laws that guide the sector holistically. If need be to repeal some laws and re-enact, we do, or amend some laws, we do.  We are representatives of the people, we will do everything possible within the legislative framework to protect the interests of Nigerians we are representing and make sure their rights are adequately protected.”

    The committee, he said, is required to report to the House in six weeks and they (committee) will ensure they deliver within the timeframe.

    On the complaints, the various customers from Ikeja, Eko and Ibadan DisCos that cover the Southwest urged the Federal Government to carry out holistic review of the activities of some distribution companies in the Southwest region over non-performance.

    Chairman, Community Development Association, Magodo Phase 1, Mr Bode Ojomo, urged the committee to enact a law that would restrain distribution companies from carrying out estimated billing without reading of meters.

    “We are battling with overbilling and estimated billings from distribution company, despite non-supply of power to the estate in the last three months. Ikeja DisCo has failed in its responsibility to customers. I urge the electricity regulator to attach stiffer sanction to non-performing Discos. Enough is enough; we cannot continue to be paying for darkness. We are paying over N35,000 monthly on three bedroom apartment,” he said.

    He added that the Ikeja DisCo does not read meters, querying how houses in the estate could get the same amount on the bills issued. “Do they have the same consumption level? It is not possible to have the same bills, it is fraud,” he added.

    Another consumer, Mrs Ladun Lawal, a retired civil servant in Ife, Osun State, condemned Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) for persistent high bills given her by the company without corresponding energy supply. Lawal said the phenomenon of crazy bills had become a monthly ritual, which she had to contend with.

    She urged DisCo management to train their workers on manners and how to attend to customers, adding that the DisCo lacked service delivery, customer relations and is known for issuing fictitious bills to consumers.

    According to her, installation of pre-paid meter by IBEDC to customers has become a taboo as they live fat on estimated billing. “I paid over N80,000 for meter since 2016, but I am yet to receive the meter and they keep sending bills of over N200,000 monthly to my place. It is painful that this is happening in this country. How will one access light from the IBEDC for just three hours in the entire month and the bill is mind-boggling,’’ she said.

    Mrs Abosede Ogunyemi, a trader from Ekiti State under Benin DisCo, lamented the crazy billing in spite of epileptic power supply, adding that many had waited for years to obtain prepaid meters. Ogunyemi described the fixed and estimated system of billing as fraudulent, saying the system has also been faulted by NERC as cheating of consumers.

    She decried consumers’ arbitrary billing by Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) over the year, adding that the estimated billing system had become means of exploiting Nigerians.

    She urged the government to intervene by making durable prepaid meters available to consumers. “I stopped using public power supply since two years ago due to poor supply and unscrupulous officials of the distribution company. The officials would bring between N35,000 and N47,000 monthly when their company did not supply us power up to three hours in a whole month,’’ she said.