Group faults Ikeja Electric’s new prepaid meters

A group, Citizens Access to Electricity Initiatives (CATEIN), on Monday alleged that the new free prepaid electricity meters being installed by the Ikeja Electric (IE) were a means to exploit consumers.

Mr. Abdul-Salam Fashola, the Coordinator of the group, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), claimed that the meters had been tampered with, by the company.

Fashola wondered why the new prepaid meters were being installed when the former meters were accurate and cost effective.

“The new prepaid meter is a fraud. You discovered that the meter is running faster. The one they removed was accurate and cost effective.

“Apart from that, if the current is low, the old meter will not read or charge within that period, but this new meter did not have this function.

“It continues to run faster and faster. This is exploitation, they should stop installing them,’’ he said.

Fashola lamented that consumers were now paying for darkness, after the increase in electricity tariff.

“They told consumers that an increase in tariff will lead to more energy. Today, we are paying the new tariff but we are not getting the supply any longer,’’ he said.

Fashola called on electricity consumers nationwide to wake up from their slumber and stop paying for darkness, adding that electricity supply had gone down.

Meanwhile, all efforts to get Mr Felix Ofulue, the Head, Communication Unit of IE, to react to the allegation proved abortive, as he did not pick several calls put to his mobile phone line.