Consumers Urge FG to Sack Non-performing DISCOs

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
Electricity customers in Anambra State have called on the federal government to consider sacking distribution companies (Discos) that have performed below expectation.
The consumers insisted that there was need to change non performing Discos, citing Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) as one of those that have commenced unnecessary exploitation of customers.

The customers made the call during a protest against the services of EEDC in Ekwulobia, Aguata council of the state yesterday, saying EEDC was not supplying sufficient power; not giving them pre-paid metres and charging exorbitant bills.
The aggrieved customers who were no fewer than 500 carried placards with various inscriptions like ‘Attention Sir Emeka Offor Help the poor masses’, ‘EEDC give us prepaid meter’, ‘Non-Indigenes need pre-paid metres’.

Others were ‘Ekwulobia traders need pre-paid metre’, ‘Give us good electricity supply’, ‘Is Ekwulobia different from other towns?’ among others.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, their leader, Mr. Ebere Nnopu, said the ‘killer bills’ system of the EEDC was no longer acceptable, and urged them to metre their customers expeditiously.

Nnopu, who described the harsh treatment of EEDC as economic sabotage, said most businesses in the area which rely on electricity for their operations had died and many people rendered jobless.

“We cannot take this poor service anymore, we are suffering, no power, no prepaid metres and the bills are crazy. We want the EEDC to buckle up or handover to who can serve us better,” he said.
Addressing the crowd, the Ekwulobia EEDC Network acting Manager, Mr. Ogbonna Kanu, said they had noted their grievances and promised to address them.
Kanu said the low energy supply from EEDC was not their fault as they distribute only from the electricity made available to them by the generating and transmission firms.