By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Residents of Iyiowa Odekpe in Ogbaru Local Government Area, Anambra State, have lamented the outrageous electricity bill to consumers in the area by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), describing it as a systematic extortion.

The residents who took to the road to protest the increase in electricity bills regretted that the country?s minimum wage of N70,000 cannot cover the company?s monthly bill for one family.

According to the protesting community, their power supply was cut off for three weeks, adding that no household in the area pays less than N80,000 as a monthly electricity bill, even with prepaid meters.

They carried placards with different inscription such as: Over 80% of those disconnected have prepaid meters,? ?N80,000 monthly electricity bill is unaffordable,? ?EEDC?s disconnection of our power for three weeks is an attempt to cow us into submission,? ?and ?There is a monthly cap from NERC ? stop the overbilling now!?

?We are being exploited and intimidated,? the protesters chanted, adding: ?We cannot pay these outrageous bills, and no amount of intimidation will cow us into submission.?

They further demanded the immediate provision of prepaid meters, the cancellation of accumulated ?ridiculous arrears? resulting from inflated bills, and the restoration of electricity supply.

Speaking during the protest, chairman of the Iyiowa Odekpe Landlords and Tenants Association, Chief Sunday Obinze, decried the hardship imposed on the community by EEDC.

He stressed that EEDC disconnected the entire community from power on the grounds that residents were indebted, even though over 80% of consumers use prepaid meters.

He said: "The bills sent to postpaid users range between N80,000 and N130,000 monthly. How much is Nigeria?s minimum wage? How do you expect a civil servant to pay N100,000 for electricity in one month??

While noting that the community previously paid between N18,000 and N28,000 monthly before the recent billing surge, Obinze said that based on information from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the billing cap for their category should be around N31,000 per month?a figure the community is willing to pay.

He added: "We are low income earners and cannot afford bills of N80,000 to N130,000. EEDC is simply exploiting and intimidating us."

On his part, the secretary of the association, Dr. Chukwunonso Okolie, echoed Obinze?s sentiments, stating that the excessive billing is worsening the economic hardship in the area.

He said their inquiries to EEDC about the inflated bills were ignored, and instead, the company retaliated by cutting off power in the entire community.

He said: ?EEDC is behaving like a mafia group. It doesn?t listen to our cry. Most of our residents are poor and cannot fight back.

?It?s unthinkable that a community where over 80% of consumers use prepaid meters would be completely disconnected over alleged debts.

?The community is calling for urgent intervention by the government and regulatory bodies to ensure fair billing, provision of prepaid meters, and restoration of electricity.?