By Tony Okafor, Uga
Residents of Uga community in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State on Monday barred officials of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) from entering the town to collect electricity bills, citing persistent poor power supply and what they described as outrageous estimated billing.
The action followed a peaceful protest by the residents, who accused EEDC and its Anambra State asset manager, FirstPower Electricity Distribution Limited, of overbilling consumers despite epileptic or non-existent electricity supply.
The protesters warned that EEDC officials would no longer be allowed into Uga until power supply is fully restored and billing issues resolved. They maintained that they would no longer pay for electricity they did not consume.
Addressing journalists during the protest, the Chairman of the Uga Community Electricity Committee, Evangelist Johnpaul Ifediba, lamented that the town had never experienced a Christmas celebration with stable electricity supply.
“Ifediba, who spoke on behalf of the President General of the Uga Improvement Union (UIU), Chief Romanus Umenze, cautioned staff of FirstPower against indiscriminate disconnection of residents without first engaging the community’s electricity committee.
According to him, electricity supply to Uga is so erratic that residents sometimes receive power not more than twice in a month, and even then, it rarely lasts beyond five hours.
“Whenever EEDC restores power, it stops at Ula, Ekwulobia. Most times, it happens at night. I am usually called to go and ‘pick the light’ by switching it on. I often have to leave Uga for Ekwulobia at midnight. If I don’t do this, there will be no power in Uga,” Ifediba alleged.
He added that the company had blamed the problem on a faulty switch handle, an issue he said had persisted for years without repair.
Also speaking, the Councillor representing Uga Ward 1, Hon. Onyeka Ezenwa, said the erratic power supply had crippled businesses, disrupted institutions, and made life unbearable for residents.
According to him, individual consumers receive estimated bills ranging from ₦12,000 to ₦100,000 monthly, while bulk customers billed per village are issued bills ranging from ₦500,000 to several millions, even when electricity supply is less than five hours, twice in a month.
“Sometimes they bring light briefly and take it away again. It may come around 2 a.m. when people are asleep, with very low voltage, and before morning it goes off. Towards the end of the month, the bills will come. If you don’t pay, they disconnect your house and remove your cables,” he alleged.
Some residents, including Mr. Sunny Ezeajama, a barber, and Mrs. Chidimma Ochiogwu, a businesswoman, said they spend between ₦60,000 and ₦100,000 monthly on fuel and diesel to power generators, yet still receive electricity bills ranging from ₦15,000 to ₦70,000.
Other speakers, including Comrade E. E. Elochi, Mr. Umennajiego Ukachukwu, Mr. Ezennia Josiah, Mr. Chibuike Ezeabuzie, Mrs. Ngozi Ozoemena, Nze John Abadibe, Mrs. Uche Madufe, and Mr. Onwuka Ifeanyi, appealed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene and ensure stable electricity supply in the community.
They assured the state government and the distribution company that they would willingly pay for electricity, even under Band A, if supply was reliable and customers were properly metered.
Meanwhile, the Electricity Consumers Right Network (ECRN), a non-governmental organisation, inaugurated its Uga Chapter on Monday as part of efforts to sensitize residents, especially those in rural areas, on their rights and responsibilities in the power sector.
Inaugurating the chapter at Awalasi village hall, the ECRN Coordinator, Comrade Osita Obi, urged residents to protect electricity infrastructure in their community and to promptly pay their bills, while calling on EEDC to urgently address the challenges hindering power supply in Uga.
Obi described electricity as a fundamental right and stressed that metering all customers would benefit both consumers and the distribution company.
Reacting to the development, the Traditional Ruler of Uga, Igwe Sir Stephen Ezenwigwe, represented by Obi Solomon Nzediegwu (Obi of Awalasi), commended the initiative and assured the community of royal support towards the full restoration of electricity supply in Uga.
