Electricity consumers under the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) have accused the company of exploiting customers through what they describe as an illegal and unapproved tariff regime.
According to the aggrieved customers, BEDC has allegedly introduced an alien tariff plan that does not align with any of the officially approved tariff bands by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
They claimed that despite being classified under Band D, which has an approved tariff of ₦41.20 per kilowatt-hour, they are being charged over ₦100 per kwh since switching to prepaid meters.
The consumers noted that none of the approved tariff bands support the ₦100 billing rate currently being applied by BEDC.
“Band A customers pay ₦225, Bands B and C are less than ₦70, while Band D is less than ₦50,” one of the affected consumers said.
“So where did BEDC get the ₦100 tariff it is now using to bill us?”
They argued that even if the company intends to migrate customers to higher tariff bands, it must first meet the minimum power supply hours prescribed by NERC before doing so, a condition they insist BEDC has failed to meet.
Read also:
- Delta asks BEDC to end estimated billing, provide prepaid meters
- Power Outage: TCN announces scheduled maintenance in BEDC domain
- BEDC’s MD in police net for alleged threat to life, illegal trespass
“Our power supply has been going from bad to worse,” said Efemena Henry, one of the consumers who spoke to journalists.
“I think with the growing awareness and purchase of prepaid meters, BEDC is no longer meeting up with their illegal collections.
”They are losing hold of their usual practice of collecting money for services not rendered through criminal estimated billing.”
Henry further accused the BEDC of previously attempting to frustrate access to prepaid meters by inflating their cost.
“They tried to make it difficult for us to get prepaid meters by hiking the price beyond reason. But since the market opened, many people have made the sacrifice to buy them, and that has reduced their illegal revenue.
”Now that people are metered, they can’t cheat us through estimation anymore, so they have devised another way, introducing an unapproved tariff to steal from us,” he alleged.
Another consumer, Tochukwu Joel, from Ughelli, Delta State, also recounted his experience, describing it as “daylight robbery.”
According to him, “ever since I purchased my prepaid meter and it was installed about four months ago, I have been getting over 100 units for ₦5,000.
”But to my surprise, on Friday, October 17, 2025, I recharged the same ₦5,000 as usual and got less than 50 units, precisely 45 units.
”I was shocked because there was no announcement or notice of tariff adjustment. It’s simply unfair.”
Joel said the drastic reduction in energy units without prior notice or improvement in power supply clearly indicates that consumers are being defrauded.
“If they say they are migrating us to another tariff band, they should at least meet the minimum supply hours first. We barely get light, yet they are charging us as if we are on Band B or C,” he lamented.
Both Henry and Joel called on relevant regulatory and consumer protection agencies to urgently intervene, stressing that Nigerians are already burdened by economic hardship.
“We are using this medium to call on the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Customer Protection Council (CPC), and the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) to investigate this issue and call BEDC to order,” Henry added.
“We work hard for our money, and if they want to earn more, they should improve their service, not exploit us.”
Residents across Delta, Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo States, the four states under BEDC’s coverage, have echoed similar complaints in recent weeks, alleging arbitrary deductions and non-transparent billing systems.
As of the time of filing this report, the BEDC’s management has yet to issue an official statement in response to the allegations.
However, consumer rights advocates have urged the NERC to immediately audit the company’s tariff application process and ensure that all billing conforms to approved regulatory frameworks, warning that continued silence could embolden other DisCos to adopt similar exploitative practices.
