This is certainly not new to us who are the ones consuming the epileptic nature of electricity supply in the country. We pay for this consumption either by using prepaid or post-paid meter or whatever they may call it. In prepaid meter, we are made to pay the minimum but compulsory sum of N750 monthly on what we dont understand whether light in use or not and any month you fail to do so, the sum will be accruing up to you until the day you'll bring yourself to their office and they'll make known to you how much has been accumulated on your bill which you'll have to offset the entire bill before you can talk of buying new subcription for your meter. As if all these were not enough, the management of the epileptic power supply (which even now is a private sector) make it a duty in collecting money from people of the area each time transformer experience a breakdown, or light sparked somewhere and the cable got spoiled and therefore requires a maintenance work. Why are we paying for the maintenance again after spending such huge amount per home to these people? Isn't their responsibility to ensure maintenance on their facilities? Or is it the same way MTN, Glo, Etisalat, Airtel make us pay for maintenance whenever thunder storm or related activities pull down thier masts? In my area now, we havent had light for over a month now simply becos a transformer got fault and every home now is requested to pay the some of N2500 to be used in carrying out maintenance before light can come back. This is so unfair, unright, unjust and very unconstitutional. The earlier we rise up and criticise these people (of which i believe social media like this can go a long way) over this unjust treatment, the better it will be for us all.

Because we are ignorant and never ready to ask questions.

I dont even understand what dat maintenance fee is for

lanrema:
I dont even understand what dat maintenance fee is for

Bros, the thing tire us o. How can we be paying for bills and also pay for maintenance? Is it the same way private sectors have been asking us to pay for thier maintenance? If a private clinic needs maintenance in their facilities, do they ask patients to pay some money because they've been making use of the clinic at which they paid for it? I dont understand why we should be made to pay for maintenance again. This is a very vital issue we should rise up and address. Wrong things are just going on in every sector of the economy. Not only abt immigration charging for registration form, NDE asking applicants to pay 2k and so on, this electricity own is another issue that needs to be addressed.

Have been poundering on this issue to. About a week ago, we started the contribution of money which we are going to use to repair the Transformer in our area. The one which we contributed 4k per house to installed.

The worst part is that, they even collected 20k before connecting our light to the former transformer while waiting for the money we are going to use in repairing the broke down one.

Whenever any wire got broken down, we usually pay private company to do it for us.

Canme4u:
Have been poundering on this issue to. About a week ago, we started the contribution of money which we are going to use to repair the Transformer in our area. The one which we contributed 4k per house to installed.

The worst part is that, they even collected 20k before connecting our light to the former transformer while waiting for the money we are going to use in repairing the broke down one.

Whenever any wire got broken down, we usually pay private company to do it for us.

That is the issue. Why do we pay for the maintenance? Is maintenance not part of their responsibility?

The same shit is happening around Ijeja area of Abeokuta now. a 15mm cable got spoiled and d affected users will have to fork out the princely sum of #130,000 for purchasing and they will still pay PHCN staffs egunje for the installation. This country is just a joke.

Alphaoscar:
The same shit is happening around Ijeja area of Abeokuta now. a 15mm cable got spoiled and d affected users will have to fork out the princely sum of #130,000 for purchasing and they will still pay PHCN staffs egunje for the installation. This country is just a joke.

Seriously, wrong things happening everywhere in this country and we've failed to see and address the issue. Let them tell us convincingly why we shld be made to pay for maintenance after paying for bills. It's so so annoying. If Dangote facilities go bad, does he ask us (the consumers of his products) to pay for repairing of the facilities? Why shld electricity (now solely a private sector) be different?

daylight robbery supported by our non caring government.

...because we all are complicit in being too docile & mumu-ish, a collection of slowpokes Lagbaja sang about & aptly summed up as 200million mumus, in one giant kingdom that can be termed as an Animal Farm. Power
supply in my area since the start
of Oct has been overtly appalling..., just a cumulative of some paltry 30hrs as at this morning, (I painstakingly noted
hours of supply just to have a justifiable
stand-off with the children of a pig that
constantly ferry ladders around to harass
consumers to disconnect them for services
not rendered)....and gues what, Oct bill has
already been served 2nd week! I wont
even waste mb on the pathetic service in
months past.
Jonathans fresh air I guess....

Because in Nigeria, there are some funny rules and policies...lol

Why charging for maintenance, I don't know? Not as if any maintenance is done on the meter. If your meter got spoiled, you will still be the one to buy new one.


On the issue of contribution to buy transformer, I think that is suppose to be the responsibility of the Government or phcn, people contribute because of the negligence of the phcn and government to replace the spoilt transformer.

In my previous area, when our transformer got blown, we all matched to the LGA sectariat not far from us and keep mounting pressure on them before we got our transformer in a short time else... We for old waiting.

Exploitation of man by man. I pay N4:30 rate per unit before but now I pay almost N17.00 per unit. In addition, I pay maintenance, meter and VAT charges every month. Whenever you fail to pay in time and you are disconnected, you will pay about N20000= reconnection fee. I wish GEJ can look into this issue and advise PHCN to start charging a reduced single rate that will cover all proper costs to them and the consumers have propensity to pay. So help us GEJ!

Orunto:
Exploitation of man by man. I pay N4:30 rate per unit before but now I pay almost N17.00 per unit. In addition, I pay maintenance, meter and VAT charges every month. Whenever you fail to pay in time and you are disconnected, you will pay about N20000= reconnection fee. I wish GEJ can look into this issue and advise PHCN to start charging a reduced single rate that will cover all proper costs to them and the consumers have propensity to pay. So help us GEJ!

Wish they can ever help implementing a policy that will help the masses. Dont be surprised that all the ogas @dtop are shareholders in the unjust charges. How then would they intend to say NO to this inhumane activities?

OP, you're a very funny man.

Why do you think people pay cash to the police to get themselves bailed after they've been proven innocent of any crime?

Why do you think students in some tertiary institutions pay dues every academic session for accreditation of courses?
Why do you think job seekers pay the employers in public offices huge amounts of naira to get employed?

The answers to the above questions will give you an inkling as to why you get to pay for transformer maintenance. One thing though is obviously common among most of these payments... You'll never get receipts!

Next time a power distribution company staff knocks on your door to collect fees for fixing your transformer, make sure not to call him corrupt. Because he's merely stealing.

Seun, front-page please. Nigerians need answers.

They are ripping us big time. Imagine just 100 million people multiplied by 750 every month. I don't think nepa has been to my house in the past one year. What are they maintaining? I tire for this country where we don't have a voice.its really frustrating.

Frankenstein:
OP, you're a very funny man.

Why do you think people pay cash to the police to get themselves bailed after they've been proven innocent of any crime?

Why do you think students in some tertiary institutions pay dues every academic session for accreditation of courses?
Why do you think job seekers pay the employers in public offices huge amounts of naira to get employed?

The answers to the above questions will give you an inkling as to why you get to pay for transformer maintenance. One thing though is obviously common among most of these payments... You'll never get receipts!

Next time a power distribution company staff knocks on your door to collect fees for fixing your transformer, make sure not to call him corrupt. Because he's merely stealing.

Seun, front-page please. Nigerians need answers.

Bros, i understand ur point exactly. In the case of paying for course registration by students of higher institution, it's a pure bribery and an uncalled for. Lecturers however use that to award some marks to students, then you can decide to pay or not depending on how u trust urself. As for police, we all know the story...as policemen and bribery are like bread and butter. They go hand in hand. The above situations may not be said to be in exact same position with this case of electricity. We all use modern facilities including this internet. When did google ask us to pay for maintenance when thier facilities were down? Even when Nairaland was in trauma, did Seun ask us to contribute? When Dangote cement plant is down, does he ask us to contribute for plant upgrading? When Glo mast is experiencing challenges, do they ask us to pay for maintenance? When my business or office is having issues, do we approach PHCN/NEPA for help? Why should we then be made to face challenges which was supposed to be solely meant for operators? We've been running generator for over 1month now just because a transformer got bad which is more a natural thing and we cant have light again because we must contribute for the repairing of the transformer after monthly maintenance charges of N750 and N6 per unit of electricity subscription. The question is, why?

RedBenson,You either continue living in your house or you pack out and live where a prepaid meter is not used.
One thing you should know is Nigerians do not know how to protest. They can tolerate anything and won't complain. Nothing will be done about it.

berem:
RedBenson,You either continue living in your house or you pack out and live where a prepaid meter is not used.
One thing you should know is Nigerians do not know how to protest. They can tolerate anything and won't complain. Nothing will be done about it.

It's not abt packing to a new location, afterall, what is the guarantee it's not happening there? This thing happens everywhere be it prepaid or post paid meter in use? And looking at it critically in that thier charges, i am sure apart from meter maintenance, other maintenance charges are there as hidden charges.