The General Manager, Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) Mrs. Kemi Olugbode has advised consumers in the State not to take laws into their hands or resort to self-help against any infringement on their rights but rather contact the Agency for necessary action and redress.
Mrs. Olugbode gave the advice at the mediation parley held at the Agency’s Office organised for some electricity consumers in the State who had contacted the Agency for redress against perceived injustice in their dealings with the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC).
According to her, scores of residents of Toluwanimi Irepodun in Ikotun, Ipaja, Shomolu as well as Community Government Housing Estate have complained of estimated bills, failure by DISCO to distribute prepaid meters, wrong disconnection, load balancing, faulty transformers and monthly billings even in places where transformers and electricity cables have long been removed by IKEDC.
While maintaining that consumers must always be law-abiding in spite of their grievances, Olugbode advised consumers not to resort to any form of violence and aggression in settling scores with IKEDC as that would be acting contrary to the Consumer Protection Law of 2014 and other relevant laws meant to protect them.
Continuing, she said that community leaders have as a duty to nominate representatives of their communities to be present when the DISCO technicians are recording the readings on their metered transformer, while consumers with functioning analog meters have a right to insist that their bills are based on readings from their meters.
She also urged the leaders to always prevail on the youths in their respective domains to allow personnel of IKEDC perform their duties, but endeavor to lodge their complaints with the Agency for necessary resolution.
According to her, IKEDC would be doing itself a great favor by ensuring transparency and clarity in their billing system, stressing that the Distribution Company must also fulfill their own part of the agreement reached.
Olugbode explained that the State Government has put machinery in place for the settlement of failed negotiation and mediation, with the establishment of a Consumer and the Small Claims courts toward procuring justice for consumers whose rights have been infringed upon, especially by manufacturers as well as sellers of hazardous, harmful and expired products.
Olugbode, however, appealed to the management of IKEDC to take cognizance of the current economic situation in the country by being customer-friendly in their billing system.
In her remarks, Mrs. Mercy Akwazi, the leader of the Team from IKEDC covering the affected areas, said the new method of obtaining prepaid meters now is for consumers to apply online through the National Electricity Regulatory Company (NERC) for an approved Meter Asset Provider (MAP) saddled with the responsibilities of funding, procuring as well as installing meters to customers on behalf of an electricity distribution company or to visit the closest Ikeja Electricity Office for more information.
She, however, enjoined consumers not satisfied with billing process to apply for pre-paid meter, revealing that NERC had to adopt the new method of MAP when it becomes increasingly clear that the Distribution Companies (DISCOS) can no longer meet the growing demand for prepaid meters by customers.
