As a distributor or retailer in the electricity value chain, it has further caused more pains and anguish to the people it was expected to assuage their tiredness under the management of the defunct PHCN. The situation wasn’t as bad as it is today under BEDC as it was under NEPA or PHCN.
Succinctly, their operational licence must not be renewed by the Federal Government due to their high level of inefficiency and incompetence as exhibited over the years of operation. In November, 2018, their licence will be expiring; this is an urgent call to the President Buhari’s led federal government not to consider its renewal.
Among their many sins are enumerated below and not limited to the following:
1. BEDC managed by Vigeo Power Limited is a lawless company and does not respect decisions of NERC and court orders. Only recently a court slammed it with a N10m compensation to a customer whom the NERC forum had already decided its case but BEDC went ahead to arrest him with the police while the matter subsisted in court.
2. It uses police to harass customers in debt recovery.
3. It uses military personnel attached to some white foreigners working with it to abuse the human rights of citizens who are their customers over little issues as protests by communities when they get disconnected without due process and for debt recovery.
4. BEDC management is fond of accusing a whole community of owing and putting them in darkness until the amount alleged to be owed is fully paid, whereas it is a case of few individuals owing because prepaid meter owners cannot be said to be owing rather it is the other way round.
5. Refusal to supply meters so as to further exploit citizens with outrageous estimated billing.
6. BEDC will never replace a faulty transformer or bad poles. Communities and individuals are forced to buy these items themselves and BEDC compelling the purchasers to say it is a donation to BEDC if they want them connected.
7. Customer service is very poor and discouraging.
8. Poor remunerations for the inadequate staff.
9. High handedness of Funke Osibudu on mild issues.
10. Operation of special lines with up to 24 hours supply to some customers while a majority of their customers barely enjoy three hours of constant supply daily.
The people of Edo & Delta States are sincerely tired of the operations of the BEDC and its activities and urge the federal government to act before the state is plunged into total anarchy and disorderliness by the attempt renewal of their licence. We are wholeheartedly in support of the criminalization of estimated billing bill currently under consideration by House of Representatives.
Comrade Osazee Edigin
Public Relations Officer
Edo Civil Society Organisations
28A, Erie Street,
Off Sokponba Road,
Benin City,
Edo State,
Nigeria.
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