Members of the Licensed Electrical Contractors Association of Nigeria, Osun State chapter, on Thursday took to the streets in protest over alleged unethical practices by staff of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, accusing them of exploiting customers and hijacking their professional duties.

Chanting protest songs and carrying placards with inscriptions such as ?Band is a fraud?, ?Enough of IBEDC Exploitation on Transformers?, and ?Make meters available to all customers?, the protesters marched through Osogbo/Ibokun road to press their demands.

Addressing journalists, the state chairman of LECAN, Kayode Adebayo, accused IBEDC staff of flouting the Electricity Act of 2013 and usurping the responsibilities of licensed contractors.

?First, the Electricity Act of 2013 stipulates the roles of DISCO workers, electrical contractors and consumers. Unfortunately, IBEDC workers have usurped the responsibility of licensed contractors only to turn into tormentors who wickedly exploit residents/customers,? Adebayo said.

?As ordinary residents, we are now at the mercy of IBEDC workers to get an electricity metre, which ordinarily should be the duty of licensed contractors. IBEDC workers have become a barrier to residents joining the grid through excruciating conditions. They have made ordinary account generation a problem in a bid to exploit innocent and unsuspecting customers.

?IBEDC fraudulently exploits customers as those given new accounts are usually charged a minimum debit of N100,000 on newly created accounts?even before joining the grid. This unknown debt would even be transferred into the customer?s prepaid meters, thereby making them pay for services never rendered, contrary to the Electricity Act.?

He also claimed that IBEDC fails to replace faulty meters, often forcing customers to either buy new ones or be subjected to estimated billing.

?Also, some customers whose electricity meters required that their cards be submitted for upgrade have not had them returned by IBEDC. This is illegal,? Adebayo said. ?We are also of the opinion that the Band system is not working; therefore, the concept of Band A is a fraud.?

He further alleged that IBEDC staff were involved in extorting residents under the guise of helping them acquire, replace, or repair transformers.

?In some cases, installed transformers are not powered because IBEDC workers are not given adequate ?PR? to connect them to the national grid. We thereby declare that this act of fraud is enough and demand that it must stop,? he added.

Responding, IBEDC?s Osogbo Regional Communication Officer, Kikelomo Owoeye, denied the allegations and reiterated the company?s commitment to transparency and regulatory compliance.

?Contrary to some claims, customers are not billed before connection. However, instances where electricity is used during building construction may result in billing after the customer consents to connection through the submitted form. Such cases can be addressed through available resolution and adjustment windows,? Owoeye said.

On metering issues, she added, ?IBEDC continues to meter customers with verified proof of payment. We encourage customers with genuine documentation to come forward. Unfortunately, there have been attempts to fraudulently use a single receipt for multiple meters, which are being thoroughly investigated.?

ddressing concerns about the discontinued card reconfiguration program, Owoeye explained, ?It was an amnesty initiative with a clearly communicated deadline. That window has since closed.?

She added that faulty meters are replaced by IBEDC depending on the cause. ?If it results from customer misuse, the customer is responsible for replacement. If due to a manufacturing defect, IBEDC replaces the meter within a given timeline. To maintain electricity supply during the replacement process, the customer?s billing is temporarily based on NERC-approved capping.? (PUNCH)

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