From Chuma Austin, Enugu
The Enugu Electricity Distribution PLC (EEDC) has cautioned against activities of scammers and unscrupulous individuals who are already taking advantage of the just commenced National Mass Metering Program (NMMP) to swindle unsuspecting customers of their money.
Giving the warning on Sunday, the Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Emeka Ezeh, lamented that barely a week after the commencement of the free mass metering programme, the company had started receiving reports of customers who had been scammed in their bid to get metered quickly.
It could be recalled that the EEDC image maker in a statement issued last week explained that the modalities for deployment of meters will be according to feeders and distribution substations, and that information on this will be made available to customers as the exercise progresses.
Ezeh said that about 400 customers have so far been metered in less than two weeks of the commencement of this metering exercise and appealed to customers to be patient as this metering programme which comes at no cost will definitely get to all customers.
He emphasized that unlike the arrangement with the MAP metering scheme where customers had to apply and pay to be metered, there is no online or offline application in this mass metering exercise. He also added that there is no application form, no processing fee and no meter installation cost.
His words: “We need to appreciate and acknowledge that the metering gap in the country is quite huge and that is why the Federal Government in its wisdom came up with the National Mass Metering Program (NMMP) to consciously close the existing metering gap, and customers are not expected to pay to be metered”.
“We all know that times are hard and some elements in our society have taken to all sorts of nefarious activities to survive, not minding the effects on the system and other citizens. Hence the call for caution.
“There is no way all the unmetered electricity customers can be metered in this initial phase of the metering exercise; it will happen gradually and we appeal to our customers to be patient and avoid becoming prey to these dubious elements.
“We therefore implore our customers to cooperate with us as we strive to serve them better. They should not hesitate in reporting any of our staff that is requesting them to pay any amount of money to get metered.
“EEDC remains committed to ensuring that the NMMP, which is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria succeeds, and this can only be actualized with the support and cooperation of customers.
