An investigation by Business News Africa has revealed that Ikeja Electric PLC, Nigeria’s largest and most profitable power distribution company has effectively barred its customers from paying for prepaid meters.
The company, which has the largest number of customers among all the electricity distribution companies in Nigeria, recently deactivated the meter payment feature on its website ikejaelectric.com/meterfee, the only way through which customers are able to pay for meters after obtaining a unique payment code.
The unique payment code is usually provided to a consumer after a survey of a customer’s property has been procesed and approved by Ikeja Electric PLC.
Ikeja Electric PLC did not provide a reason for its abrupt decision to stop accepting payments for meters but several customers who spoke to Business News Africa expressed their frustration at being unable to acquire prepaid meters from the company after undergoing a lengthy and convoluted process.
An official of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) who spoke to this newspaper on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, said that it was within the regulatory agency’s ambit to investigate the matter if it received a formal complaint from any consumer.
Ikeja Electric PLC is owned by the Sahara Group, a conglomerate that is involved in several lucrative sectors of the Nigerian economy. The Group also owns the Egbin Power Plant.
In the past, Ikeja Electric has been accused of overbilling its customers and constantly breaching the NERC cap for unmetered energy consumers and also creating hurdles for custoners who wish to procure prepaid meters.
