The Management of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) on Monday said electricity that was being supplied to customers in its franchise areas of Edo, Delta, Ekiti and Ondo was not free.
This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Tayo Adekunle, the Head, Corporate Affairs, BEDC, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin.
The statement is in reaction to news making the round that some customers were engaging the services of electricians to reconnect after being disconnected for non-payment of bills.
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“The reconnection is on the excuse that the federal government has promised free electricity for two months during the period of the pandemic
” The proposed free electricity supply to all Nigerians for two months to make life easier during the Coronavirus pandemic is yet to be implemented, and as such, customers should continue to pay their bills.
“No decision has been taken by the federal government on the proposal, while nobody is sure of the date of implementation; electricity supply to customers presently is not free.
” Prepaid customers need to vend energy token to avoid service disruption when they run out of energy units, while postpaid customers need to settle outstanding bills to avoid disconnection.
“This is so because if the free electricity palliative measure is approved, it will not cover the past bills,” Adekunle said.
He, therefore, advised customers to manage their energy consumption to avoid accumulating huge bills that may be difficult to pay.
Adekunle said the BEDC would continue to provide quality service across its touchpoints and improve the availability of electricity supply to alleviate the hardship faced by customers during the pandemic period.
He said BEDC had suspended its rotational load management and increased power availability to several customers in some locations across its franchise states.
“We appeal to customers to continue to pay their bills, as the status quo remains pending further directive on the proposed free electricity proposal,” Adekunle said.
He said that anybody caught in the act of illegal reconnection would be arrested and prosecuted in line with existing electricity regulations.
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