By Amara Ehia, Abakaliki
A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Ebonyi State has threatened to drag the Eastland Electricity Distribution Limited (EEDL) to court over alleged overbilling, arbitrary disconnections and other practices it says have placed undue hardship on electricity consumers.
The groups said they were left with no option but to seek judicial intervention after several petitions and mediation efforts failed to produce lasting solutions.
Addressing journalists in Abakaliki at the weekend, Chairman of the Human Rights Volunteer Corps (HRVC), Ebonyi State chapter, Prof. Joseph Agbo, accused the electricity distribution company of subjecting residents to years of estimated billing, unlawful transfer of outstanding debts into prepaid meters, refusal to bill postpaid customers based on actual meter readings, and disconnecting customers without proper notice.
According to Agbo, the coalition—comprising the Human Rights Volunteer Corps (HRVC), Human Rights Action Group, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Good Living Initiative (GLI), and Victims of EEDC Overbilling, Ebonyi State (VEOBES)—resolved to head to court after repeated complaints to the company and regulatory authorities allegedly yielded no meaningful results.
“We have decided to approach the court because we believe the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man. We are seeking justice for consumers who have suffered from alleged overbilling and other unfair treatments,” he said.
Agbo further alleged that some marketers of the company collected payments through Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals under questionable circumstances, while customers were issued bills that did not correspond with the company’s official records. He also claimed that many consumers were denied access to their account statements, making it difficult to verify charges.
The coalition also questioned the electricity band classification in Ebonyi, alleging that several Band A feeders do not receive the minimum 20 hours of daily electricity supply required under the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) guidelines.
He revealed that petitions had been submitted to the EEDL district office, NERC headquarters and the Ebonyi State Ministry of Justice, but said no concrete action had been taken to resolve the complaints.
The groups called on NERC to set up an independent panel to investigate EEDL’s operations in Ebonyi, order refunds for customers found to have been wrongly billed, and sanction any officials implicated in wrongdoing. They also appealed to Governor Francis Nwifuru and the Ebonyi State House of Assembly to intervene, while commending the state Ministry of Justice for initiating mediation and issuing a pre-action notice.
Responding to the allegations, EEDL’s Head of Communications, Mrs. Patience Ezeagu, said the company operates strictly in line with regulations approved by NERC and remains committed to providing quality electricity services.
She explained that customers without prepaid or functional postpaid meters are billed using NERC-approved estimated billing guidelines and encouraged dissatisfied customers to lodge complaints through the company’s customer service channels for prompt investigation.
Ezeagu noted that EEDL had carried out extensive bill reconciliation exercises across its franchise areas, leading to the correction and adjustment of millions of naira in billing discrepancies.
She reaffirmed the company’s commitment to transparency, fairness and continuous engagement with customers, assuring that all genuine complaints would receive appropriate attention.
Despite the planned legal action, the coalition urged residents to continue paying legitimate electricity bills while making use of legal and regulatory channels to challenge any billing or service they believe is unfair.
