The Enugu State Government has criticized the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) for what it calls unlawful and malicious billing practices and the disconnection of some state government offices. The government described EEDC’s actions as callous and vexatious, disputing the company’s claim of a N1.3 billion debt.
In a letter dated June 11, 2024, and signed by Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, the state clarified its position. The letter, addressed to the EEDC Managing Director/CEO, stated that the current administration, under Governor Peter Mbah, has been prompt in paying all electricity bills from EEDC since May 2023 and has also cleared two months of inherited debts.
The letter, titled “Re: Notice of Disconnections to Indebted Customers and Actual Disconnections of Enugu State Government Offices,” emphasized that the disconnections, carried out on June 8, 2024, violated the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) rules on estimated billing for Maximum Demand customers.
Governor Mbah’s administration highlighted several key points:
1. The EEDC’s letter dated June 7, 2024, claimed an outstanding bill of N1,319,571,131.21, attributed to estimated billing carried over from the previous administration.
2. The current administration has paid all bills from May 2023 and shown good faith by settling two months of the inherited debt.
3. NERC Order NO/NERC/197/2020 stipulates that Maximum Demand customers without meters as of March 1, 2017, should not pay bills based on estimated billing and should not be disconnected for non-payment of such bills after the compliance deadline of March 1, 2024.
The government decried the disconnection of critical institutions, including the College of Medicine at ESUT Teaching Hospital and the State Secretariat, as unlawful and damaging to the state’s image and integrity.
In response, the government demanded:
– Detailed billing and account statements for forensic audit.
– Immediate metering of all government agencies in line with NERC orders.
– A refund for its electricity infrastructure investments, totaling N2,979,334,305.19.
– A retraction of the false debt claim and reconnection of all disconnected agencies.
The state government also declared it would no longer pay any bills based on the estimated billing methodology.
In related developments, the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority sealed EEDC offices in Enugu, disrupting operations. EEDC’s Head of Corporate Communications, Emeka Ezeh, confirmed the incident and reiterated the state’s N1 billion debt as part of an N180 billion unpaid electricity debt in the region.
