Ebun Francis|
The house of representatives on Tuesday passed a bill seeking to criminalise estimated billing in the country, among other things.
The house passed the bill after considering the report of its committee on power sector.
The report was adopted unanimously after Yusuf Lasun, deputy speaker of the house, put it to a voice vote.
The bill aims to criminalise estimated billing and make the installation of prepaid meters compulsory for all power consumers in Nigeria.
Bill estimation is a standard practice used by power providers when an actual meter reading is not available for billing purposes.
Femi Gbajabiamila, sponsor of the bill and majority leader of the house, had said it was not justifiable to continuously charge consumers for power not consumed.
It will be recalled Stakeholders in the power sector, including, Babatunde Fashola, minister of power, works and housing, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) kicked against the bill at a recent public hearing.
According to them, the bill will worsen the electricity situation in the country.