EEDC customers protest 400% electricity bill increase in Umuahia

Residents of the World Bank Housing Estate, Umuahia, within the week, stormed the office of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, to protest what they called 400% hike in electricity bills.

The incensed residents, who came with different placards, cried out that estimated bills in their area suddenly jumped from N8,000 to N47,000 each.

They also lamented that several letters they wrote about the exploitative and unimaginable bills were not attended to by the EEDC management, but instead they were being threatened with disconnection.

Speaking in anger in front of the EEDC office, the acting Chairperson of World Bank Housing Estate Residents Association, Kalu Florence called for immediate downward review.

She wondered how a public servant with less than N80,000 monthly salary would survive with family if such crazy bills were not reversed.

Other residents, who spoke, called on the EEDC to ensure that residents were not disconnected, warning that the residents may be forced to take actions that may not be palatable.

In his reaction, the Operations Manager, who simply identified himself as Engineer Amaga, begged for dialogue in order to resolve the matter.

He later went into a closed-door session with the group’s representatives.

However, the peace and reconciliation meeting, which lasted for more than three hours, did not produce the desired results for the aggrieved customers.