The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) is under fire for raising its minimum energy credit purchase requirement for Band A customers to ₦5,000.
The Disco also capped the minimum energy credit for customers on other bands at ₦2,000, sparking outrage and condemnation from various consumer groups.
In a message to its customers, the IBEDC said, “Please be informed of a recent update regarding IBEDC electricity recharge. Users on Band A must now make a minimum recharge purchase of N5,000. Users in other bands must make a minimum purchase of N2,000.
“Kindly note that this new payment structure is effective already and applies exclusively to IBEDC customers.”
The PUNCH reports that before now, customers were allowed to purchase energy credit of any amount and this still operates in other Discos except the IBEDC.
The spokesperson of the Ibadan Disco, Busolami Tunwase, said this new policy was to curb energy theft, but she did not give further details about how this will be achieved.
“It’s part of efforts at curbing energy theft,” she tersely replied when our correspondent contacted her.
Defending the initiative, a top official of the company who did not want to be mentioned, said currently, while reviewing the vending platform, it was discovered that some customers were vending low amounts which they use for a whole month, wondering if this could be possible.
“If a Band A customer vends 50 units, the amount to pay is N10,450 exclusive of VAT. So, this means the customer is using less than two units a day for one month? We think this is practically impossible,” the official stated.
He noted that some customers were engaging in metre bypass, thereby paying little to enjoy a stable power supply.
Speaking on the matter, the National Coordinator of All Electricity Consumers Forum, Adeola Samuel-Ilori, noted that the policy has to be reversed to avoid backslashes.
