The minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has cautioned power companies against forcing communities to raise funds for buying electricity transformers and other equipment.
The minister stated this during a facility tour of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company in Oyo state.
He told the IBDEC management that the government is dedicated to meeting the needs of the people and enhancing their quality of life.
He expressed concern over the frequent grievances of power consumers on the metering system and vowed to resolve the issue by abolishing the estimated Billings in the power sector.
He also revealed that the ministry is willing to partner with the private sector to improve the power distribution service in Nigeria.
Instead of charging electricity customers according to their actual meter readings, the estimated billing system bases charges on the average usage of the area or class in which they live.
Nigerians have harshly attacked this method, calling it exploitative, arbitrary, and unfair.
The federal government has promised to close the metering gap in five years and terminate the estimated billing system by the end of 2024.
Additionally, power firms have been cautioned by Adebayo Adelabu, the minister of power, not to make communities pay for equipment such as electrical transformers.
He declared that the government is dedicated to raising the standard and openness of the power industry.