The Edo State Consumer Protection Committee has called on the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to stop the illegal migration of consumers to Bands without their consent and commensurate power supply.
According to a statement signed by the Committee Chairman, Mr Osaro Iyamu, the Committee made the demand during its advocacy visit to the corporate headquarters of BEDC in Benin City.
it says other complaints presented to the BEDC Management were Estimated Billing and Over-Billing to Customers ,
Prolonged Power Outage and blackouts in Many communities as well as forcing customers to pay for repairs and replacement of faulty equipment.
According to the statement, free metering under the Federal Government metering programs were allegedly sold at exorbitant prices ranging from ₦150,000 to ₦400,000, with illegal charges for installation and mapping of ₦10,000 to ₦25,000.
The Edo State Consumer Protection Committee demanded the immediate constitution of a Joint Complaint Resolution Committee comprising it’s Members, BEDC Management, CSOs, NGO’s Community Heads, Security Agencies and NUJ to address complaints transparently on a daily basis.
It also demanded for the Establishment of functional and accessible Service Centers for Meter complaints, replacement and activation across all Local Government Areas.
The Committee urged the BEDC to publish its Operational Heads in various branches with their official phone numbers, to enable consumers interface with genuine staff and avoid extortion by impostors.
It maintained that customers must stop purchasing transformers and installation materials for BEDC as they were part of its statutory obligation.