Umuahia Residents Protest 400% Electricity Bill Hike

Umuahia, Abia State — Tension flared in Umuahia on Monday as residents of the World Bank Housing Estate took to the streets to protest what they described as an outrageous increase in their monthly electricity bills by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).

The protesters, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Power Bills Higher Than House Rent” and “Estimated Billing is Criminal”, decried the sudden jump in charges from about ₦9,000 to between ₦47,000 and ₦50,000 per household.

According to them, most residents are civil servants and low-income earners, making it unreasonable to pay electricity bills that are higher than their monthly rent.

President of the Estate Residents’ Association, Mrs. Florence Kanu, said the July increment came as a rude shock.

“How do you explain a situation where someone billed ₦9,000 in June suddenly gets a ₦47,000 bill in July? Many of our residents earn less than ₦80,000 a month,” she lamented.

She also faulted the demand of ₦100,000 for prepaid meters, insisting that meters should be provided free to enable consumers track usage and avoid arbitrary charges.

Responding, the Umuahia District Operations Manager of EEDC, Engineer Amaga, attributed the rise to the reclassification of the estate under the Band A category. He explained that the bills were still based on estimates and promised to escalate the residents’ grievances to the appropriate authorities for review.