The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission had, in June, announced a review of the charge from N500 to N750.
The fixed charge is an automatic revenue earner for the electricity provider as it affects every registered subscriber. According to NERC, PHCN customers will continue to pay the amount on a monthly basis. This is irrespective of whether they had power supply or not.
By this increase, an average of N9,000 per subscriber will, from June 2013, accrue to PHCN. With its over 50 million customers, PHCN would rake in billions of naira on a monthly basis, whether it supplies power to its customers or not.
Only in June 2012, NERC under the Multi Year Tariff Order II, increased the monthly fixed charge from N75 to N500. Among other things, the argument then was that the new tariff structure would attract investors for the companies that unbundled PHCN.
But barely one year after, the fixed charge has been increased again, despite the continued deterioration in PHCN services.
A PHCN customer, who spoke to Power Talkback, said that no amount would have been hard to pay if the service was available.
Some of them wondered why the Federal Government could not get the power issue right in the interest of Nigerians.
"I just paid my PHCN bill and to my surprise, the fixed charge has been increased from N500 to N750. It was a big shock.
"What the hell is going on in this country? Abi na only my own fixed charge increase?" Modinat, a PHCN customer living in Ikeja Lagos stated.
Another customer, Mr. Alabi Ojo, Lagos, wondered what the electricity company would do with the N750 paid simultaneously with his monthly electricity bill.
"I was using post-paid meter until I had to struggle to change to prepaid. The bill for my three-bedroom flat before the hike in June was always between N2,500 and N3000.
"But when the new tariff took effect, I started getting bills of N7000 and N9000 bills. I was so angry that I had to visit the PHCN office on Aina Street to complain, thinking that it was the usual crazy bill. There, I met a crowd of equally angry customers like myself.
"That was where I was advised to acquire a prepaid meter."
The building contractor said the PPM had in a way resolved the issue of incessant high bills they were getting from the PHCN a few months back. But he complained that he had not seen what the electricity company was doing with the fixed charge of N750 every month.
"They promised us better service delivery with the increase in tariff, especially with the fixed charge but we are yet to see that," he said.
Another resident of Omole Phase 2, Lagos, Onaifoghe Ogbeide, described the fixed charge as a way of robbing customers.
She said, "It is nothing but daylight robbery because I can't see what they are using the money for. Why should I be paying a fixed charge of N750 every month in addition to my normal electricity bill?
"The way PHCN is taking the money is rather confusing. I am on PPM and every time I go to their office to recharge, I am always left confused. Last month, I went there with about N3000 with the hope of buying enough units to serve my flat for a long time, but by the time they made their computation, deducting the fixed charge and all, I was left with virtually nothing. I see the electricity utility robbing me; it is as simple as that."
Meanwhile, the question on the lips of PHCN subscribers is, 'When will the vicious cycle end?'
Culled from Punch Metro
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