For many residents in Anambra, the struggle with poor power supply, inflated electricity bills, and endless wait for prepaid meters have become a part of daily life with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission saying it does not have to be so if consumers know their rights and demand for them.
This was the key message from NERC’s Commissioner for Customer Affairs, Mrs. Aisha Mahmoud, represented by the Head of Consumer Protection, Dr. Zubairu Babatunde, during a three day Customer Complaints Resolution Meeting in Awka, organised in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency, urging Ndi Anambra to always document and forward their complaints to NERC for prompt action, stressing that customer feedback is crucial in holding service providers accountable.
On his part, the Managing Director of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), Engineer Vincent Ekwekwu, represented by Chief Information Officer, Dr. Idika Okechukwu, assured customers that efforts are ongoing to improve service delivery, saying that a new meter laboratory has been established in Onitsha to fast track installations and promised that any consumer who pays for a meter will have it installed within seventy two hours.
In their reactions,many customers at the meeting, including Comrade Chike Ugboma who represented the Association of Anambra Town Unions expressed dissatisfaction over estimated billing, poor power supply, and delays in meter installation, while the Director General of Anambra Electricity Consumer Advocacy, Dr. Okechukwu Nwuche called for attitudinal change from EEDC to restore public trust.
