By Tunji Adegboyega
On December 11, the headquarters of Ikeja Electric at the Alausa area of Lagos was sealed up by officials of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), over alleged violation of consumer rights. The company’s workers were ordered out of the premises in the presence of security agents.
FCCPC’s Director of Surveillance and Investigation, Bola Adeyinka, said the commission had no choice than seal up the company’s headquarters for leaving some 19 residential apartments in darkness for about 30 months, despite the owner having paid all the necessary charges requested by the electricity distribution company (DisCo).
“Sealing this facility is a proportionate enforcement measure taken only after repeated engagement and several opportunities for voluntary compliance.
“The seal will remain in place until Ikeja Electric complies fully with the directives issued by both NERC and the FCCPC and provides written evidence of that compliance,” Adeyinka said.
FCCPC said Ikeja Electric flouted a binding order by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to unbundle a Maximum Demand account into 20 non-Maximum Demand accounts.
The order required the company to recognise 19 residential units and a service point owned by the complainant as separate customer units and to provide appropriate metering and connection.
According to the commission, “Ikeja Electric did not carry out that decision. Because of this failure, the complainant has been without an electricity supply for more than two and a half years. This was despite paying all charges requested by Ikeja Electric and meeting every obligation.
This is not all.
“The lack of electricity has prevented the complainant from putting the 19 residential units to use,” the commission stated.’’
It also mentioned some of the steps it took to resolve the matter, including but not limited to two compliance directives, one in April, with clear steps and timelines, and another of October 2, both of which were not heeded.
Without doubt, this is a serious allegation, especially concerning the economic losses the complainant must have incurred over his inability to put the units to use.
In its defence, Ikeja Electric expressed dismay over the FCCPC’s action, saying it had started work on the required steps. “It has to do with a compliance issue that was raised by the commission to us. And more like what we’re to do.
But, of course, in the expected action, we had certain reservations based on our own internal operations and how it will work out’’, the company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Kingsley Okotie, said. He added: “And so, we wrote back to the commission. But somehow, maybe our reason was not taken, and they decided to make the visit. They are a legal entity, fully backed by law. So we had no choice but to allow them to do their work,” he said.
Although Ikeja Electric somewhat tried to show some concern on the matter, there are questions begging for answers, even from the response of its spokesman. One, is it true that the complainant paid all the relevant charges requested by the DisCo? If so, when? And, if true, why was the complaint made to pay charges for service that Ikeja Electric had “reservations based on our own internal operations and how it will work out’’?
We also did not find funny, the company’s statement to the effect that “we are also ensuring that we do effective coordination of all our operational centres so that an issue that is involving a minority of people is not going to affect the majority of customers who need supply. What is paramount is that we resolve it while already engaging them.” The point is; true, it would seem the FCCPC is only fighting for only ‘’a minority of people’’ at the expense of many others, but there are many other customers who are suffering the same fate as the complainant but whose cases are either stranded at the NERC Forum that was set up to settle disputes between the DisCos and electricity consumers (that is for those who are aware of the existence of the mechanism), or are just suffering in silence.
It would be amazing to see the number of electricity consumers that would sign if a register is opened for power consumers who have such or similar complaints against not just Ikeja Electric but most of the other DisCos. We are not comfortable with such distinction between minority or majority of customers because of the divide-and-rule tactic that it portends. All customers are supposed to be treated equally, especially if they have fulfilled their obligations.
Be that as it may, the sealing up of the company’s corporate headquarters, coming barely three months to the end of the year, should serve as a wakeup call on it to reexamine its business strategy. The company’s public perception is not good enough and it needs to work on it.
If it says it is working towards resolving the dispute that led to the sealing up of its headquarters, it should be faster. Thirty months is too long a time to resolve a matter that has made it impossible for a customer to reap from the fruits of his labour. This is especially so that that customer has reportedly fulfilled all obligations.
It is heartwarming that the company’s headquarters was unsealed on Friday (December 19), even though the company has not fulfilled all the expectations of the commission. The company should however honour its pledge to resolve all the consumers’ complaints that the FCCPC referred to it within agreed timelines to avert a repeat of the unsavoury incident.
The lesson for the company and its owners is that they have to know that the consumer is king and should be treated as such.
We commend the FCCPC for collaborating with the NERC to ensure that Ikeja Electric complies with the law. It came handy to lend a helping hand where the powers of an obviously overwhelmed NERC ends.
The sealing up of Ikeja Electric headquarters should also be a wake-up call on other DisCos and indeed industry and other business giants that the law is indeed no respecter of persons or any institution.
