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 Daily
Independent Online.
* Monday,June 14, 2004.
Open letter to NEPA boss
It is with great
sorrow and disappointment that I bring to your notice the illegal,
outrageous and crazy bills regularly sent to me, despite the inefficient
and irregular services rendered by your outfit.
I pay my National Electric Power Authority
(NEPA) bill under the Opeilu service centre, situated along the
Agbado-Okearo road; my account number is 04/50/54/0262-01 and my meter
number is 0382500205, installed at my premises at 42, David Amodu Street,
Agbado Station, Ogun State.
To start with, NEPA staff in the
above-mentioned area (names withheld), especially those of the Commercial
Department in the Iju unit, obviously have no time to read my meter, but
rely purely on my own private reading. Besides, if I don’t go to ask for
my bill each month, they will not bring it.
In Agbado and environs, NEPA staff are
fond of embarking on the so-called mass disconnection exercise, which
residents have concluded are done whenever they are in need of money.
Even before a meter was eventually
installed in my premises, I was paying the estimated bills into account
number 04/50/64/0678-5. And from the day a meter was installed in my
house, from January 2004 till date, my meter has only read 01016 units,
while the total amount I have paid so far is about N5, 930, apart from
sundry fees regularly extorted by your officials for one frivolous reason
or the other.
Despite the fact that the essence of
having a meter installed is to make for accurate billing, your staff have
almost always estimated my own electricity consumption.
When I brought this problem to the notice
of your staff, all they did was to apologize. This they do each time I
complain about the unrealistic bills they keep saddling me with. Based on my understanding of meter
reading, my account should be on credit, but my recent bill says I owe
NEPA to the tune of N6, 000. How NEPA officials arrived at this is
unclear to me, considering the fact that they have not been coming around
to read my meter; and also in view of the fact that, from January till
date, I have paid NEPA bills of up to N5, 930.
Should my bills continue to be coded (what
does this mean, by the way?) or estimated almost six months after my
meter has started reading?
Should NEPA officials continue to harass
me each month, cutting off my power supply when they have not been
sending me bills? Should they continue to use their official position to
terrorize consumers as they are doing, presently?
I crave your indulgence as the boss of the
National Electric Power Authority, to please call your men to order. I
believe they have bastardized NEPA’s image beyond repair.
Ibunkun Oremodu,
42, David Amodu St.,
Agbado,Ogun State
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