…FG’s free meter scheme shouldn’t be limited to Band A and B – Consumers
Across Nigeria, millions of electricity consumers say they are trapped in a system where darkness is routine, but charges are constant. From crowded urban neighbourhoods to peri-urban communities, residents complain that electricity distribution companies (DisCos) continue to issue high estimated bills even when supply is erratic or non-existent.
For many, the problem goes beyond billing. It is about exclusion, who gets light, who gets meters, and who bears the cost of a broken system.
At the heart of the frustration is estimated billing, a practice consumers say allows DisCos to charge arbitrary amounts to customers without meters. Despite years of complaints, protests, and regulatory interventions, unmetered customers say the system remains tilted against them.
“Whether there is light or not, they still bring bills,” said Lawal Sulaiman, chairman of Ultimate Community Development Association (CDA) in Oko-filling, Igando, Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Read also: Why Nigeria’s electricity crisis is not about new laws or reforms
A community that bought its own transformer
In Oko-filling, electricity supply has been unreliable for years. According to residents, the transformer serving the area has been overstretched far beyond capacity, leading to frequent outages and low voltage.
Sulaiman said the community eventually decided to act where institutions had failed.
“The transformer we are managing is almost 20 years old and badly overloaded,” he said. “That is why we decided to help ourselves and buy a relief transformer.”
The residents pooled funds, purchased a new transformer, and completed the installation, confident that Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC) would energise it once technical conditions were met. That confidence, Sulaiman said, has since turned into frustration.
Five years later, the transformer is still idle.
According to him, the CDA has written multiple letters, visited IKEDC offices, and engaged officials at different levels, including the company’s Alausa headquarters. Each time, they were given assurances, none of which materialised.
“They kept telling us one thing or another,” Sulaiman said. “At one point, we were told it was about a transformer meter and approvals. Promises were made, but nothing has happened.”
Yet, despite the poor supply and the dormant transformer, electricity bills continue to arrive monthly, most of them based on estimates because many residents are still unmetered.
“They are happy when you don’t have meters,” Sulaiman alleged. “They rely on estimated billing even when supply is irregular or unavailable.”
Free meters, but for whom?
The Federal Government’s new free meter distribution scheme was designed to address exactly this problem, reduce estimated billing and improve transparency. But many consumers argue that the policy, as currently implemented, has created new fault lines.
Under the scheme, priority is given to Band A and Band B customers, those officially classified as receiving higher hours of electricity supply. Consumers outside these bands say they are once again left behind.
Many Nigerians have queried the fairness of this approach, arguing that it entrenches inequality rather than fixes it. They say those already enjoying relatively better supply are being rewarded, while those enduring the worst service are ignored.
For customers below Band B, the complaints are consistent: erratic power supply, estimated billing, and what they describe as exploitation by DisCos.
They argue that extending free meters to all consumers, not just Bands A and B, would actually improve service delivery.
Their logic is simple: once customers are metered, DisCos can only earn more revenue by supplying more power.
“There was no electricity for more than a month because Ikeja Electric said they were carrying out upgrades, yet at the end of that same month they still issued bills,” another consumer in the Ijegun area of Lagos said. “If we had prepaid meters, this wouldn’t happen. The Federal Government’s free meter scheme shouldn’t be limited to Band A and B customers; it should cover everyone.”
Banding and the new electricity divide
The classification of electricity consumers into Bands was introduced to reflect cost-reflective tariffs and service levels. But critics say it has also formalised inequality in access to power.
While Band A customers are promised up to 20 hours of electricity daily, many communities outside those bands say they barely get a few hours, sometimes none, yet still pay significant monthly charges.
For residents like those in Oko-filling, the banding system feels like a double punishment: poor supply and no access to metering benefits. They believe that without meters, DisCos face little incentive to improve infrastructure or reliability in lower-band communities.
Read also: Mixed reactions trail FG directive on free prepaid electricity meters
A promise that still echoes
The current situation has also revived memories of a campaign promise made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before he was elected.
“By all means necessary, you must have electricity and you will not pay for estimated bill anymore,” Tinubu told Nigerians during his campaign.
He went further, tying the promise directly to electoral accountability. “If I couldn’t keep the promise and I come back for a second time, don’t vote for me. That’s the truth. Unless I give you adequate reasons why I couldn’t deliver.”
For many electricity consumers, that promise now feels distant.
As bills continue to arrive in communities plunged into darkness, residents say the issue is no longer just about power, it is about trust, equity, and whether the system is designed to serve citizens or extract from them.
In places like Oko-filling, the question lingers each month when the lights stay off and the bills arrive: who really benefits from Nigeria’s power sector, and who pays the price?
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