Some residents of Enugu, on Friday, questioned the Mainpower Electricity Distribution Limited for billing them in the month of April when there was no substantial power supply.
MEDL took over electricity distribution in Enugu State from Enugu Electricity Distribution Company last year.
According to them, their transformers packed up, which put their neighbourhoods in darkness for almost two weeks before the supply was restored.
A resident of Umuoyo, Nru, Nsukka LGA, Ikenna Benedict, said, “We didn’t have power supply for much of April, yet we were billed. It is unfair. We are on estimated billing, so the charge seemed fixed. When the transformer shut down last year, we contributed money to fix it. It seems the duty of the distribution company is to collect bills without considering the plight of the consumers.”
The same applies to Onyebuchi Odo, residing at Obollo in Udenu LGA. He said, “Our own perennial low power supply – still, the bills keep coming. The irony is that we usually repair our transformer whenever it has issues. The power company is only after the collection of money and charging reconnection fees.”
Meanwhile, Mainpower Electricity Distribution Limited (MEDL) issued a public announcement on Friday informing customers in the Abakpa, Awkunanaw, Nsukka, and Ogui districts to settle their energy bills promptly to avoid disconnection.
This was contained in a statement released by the management of Mainpower Electricity, which was made available to newsmen in Enugu.
The customers, in the release, were reminded that the deadline for payment is the 15th of each month, covering energy consumed in the previous month.
The statement read, “We encourage our customers to pay their bills before our disconnection team arrives. Waiting for marketers to visit could lead to unnecessary reconnection fees.
“Customers who have outstanding arrears are advised to take advantage of the company’s ‘Accelerated Settlement of Arrears Project (ASAP)’, which offers a discount for timely payments.
“This initiative is designed to help our customers clear their debts while benefiting from reduced costs.”
The management emphasised that timely payments “are essential for maintaining service quality”.
