PREPAID METER OR ESTIMATED BILLING: WHICH DO NIGERIANS PREFER?

The prepaid meter is a new development which is supposed to take care of the anomalies in the analogue system. If the power companies implement the prepaid system well, power consumers will benefit immensely from it. This is because it is digital, so a consumer basically pays for exactly what he/she consumes.

But in the estimated billing system, it is a matter of the rule of the thumb. The electricity workers just do anything they like and allocate any figure or amount to the consumer. Some use the estimated billing to punish some electricity consumers. Somebody said that he was consistently billed excessively, even after complaints, the Distribution Company officials handling the area didn’t do anything about the matter. But then that shouldn’t be the situation. So, in the face of such a situation, the prepaid meter is better. If you don’t have money, you don’t consume energy, if you have money and pay for energy, then you consume.

But which is really preferable, prepaid meter or estimated billing?

Many electricity consumers across the country prefer the prepaid meters. The general reason is that it is easier to manage your electricity consumption with the prepaid meter. However, with estimated billing, you end up paying for what you didn’t even consume. For instance, after having a power failure for several weeks, the electricity company still comes up with outrageous electricity bills. This leaves the consumer wondering how and when he/she consumed such amount of electricity.

Prepaid meters have been unavailable to electricity users in different parts of the country for a while now. The prepaid meter is, therefore, now a subject of controversy between power companies and consumers.  Consequently, consumers level allegations that the power companies charge them shocking amounts.

Some power companies such as LuxxorPower have an energy management system in place to ensure that customers only pay for what they consume.

Excerpts from DailyTrust