Obi Felix N 11:59AM

We were recently disconnected on the same day in which the bill for August was brought 12 sept 2018 and their reason for the disconnection was that we have an accumulated arrears of 180,000. We have been paying our bills and timely too, every single month The said arrears has been there even before we rented that apartment. The PHCN manager for Calabar, Mr Stephen(08183352005) claims that the previous bills served as notice of disconnection. We also noticed irregularities in the billing system, in July we had fair power supply and it was noted that we consumed 420units of electricity. In August where we hardly had light at all coupled with a faulty transformer that trips up for days, we were billed for 511 units of power use and we are wondering how that came to be even though the NEPA manager claims they read our post paid meters. we have also requested for prepaid meters ad they have turned a deaf ear to that. Please what is the next step to take ? Our light has still not been reconnected.

Dear Felix, The PHEDC has the right to act (within the bounds of law) to recover its debt from defaulting customers. This includes disconnecting a customer who has owed an amount that is more that 50% of a typical months bill. This is the gist: the apartment you occupy presently owes the PHEDC to the tune of N180,000. It does not matter whether you just moved in or not, what matters is that there is a debt (an accumulated one) and the creditor has to recover it. This is a popular scenario, where you have customers complain that they just moved in and were not privy to the debt. This is why we advise anybody that wants to move into a new apartment to carry out a comprehensive background check on the apartment. We are sure you would have acted differently if you knew from the onset that there was a debt - that big - hanging in the account of the apartment. The landlord/manager of the apartment could have also done well by bringing the situation to your notice. It also behoves on the landlord to ascertain that tenants do not leave debt in the account when moving out - every tenant should clear his bills before he is allowed to move out, so that innocent incomers are not made to bear it. There are three options open to you: You could choose to pay up the debt and re-connection fee so that you could be put back on the grid; or you could enter into an arrangement with your landlord on how you can pay up the debt and the amount be taken out of your rent; or you could choose to avoid bearing responsibility for the debt by moving out of the apartment. On your second issue, a bill review and load assessment will solve the problem. We advise that you write to the PHEDC business unit serving your area and demand for a bill review and load assessment. Get it to acknowledge receipt of your letter, and do keep a copy for yourself. Allow the PHEDC a grace-period of 15 working days within which it is supposed to respond favorably to your complaint. If it fails to, you can then write to the NERC Forum Office in Calabar (the address is provided below). Ensure you attach a copy of the disregarded letter. Calabar Forum Office Plot 109, MCC Road by Ibok Street, Calabar, Cross River State Email address: [email protected] The NERC Forum Office will hear your matter and, within two (2) months, direct the DisCo to take a restitutive action.This may be in form of a grant of energy credit and cancellation of excess bills. Take advantage of the audience with the NERC Forum Office and place a demand for a prepaid meter to be installed at your location. N.B.: However, there is a facility that allows you to fill in the details of your complaints in order to generate a personalized letter or a letter that carries the NEPAWAHALA heading. This facility helps to make your complaint/demand more compelling, so as to attain a quick and favorable resolution. See the link(s) below. Good luck and do keep us posted. Kind regards.

Admin

Sep 14, 2018