Some communities in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, on Thursday protested against the increase in electricity bill by Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).

The protesters, who were led by James Adejumo, a leader of one of the communities in Osogbo, were seen gathered at the Correspondents’ Chapel secretariat on Thursday.

Adejumo said the amount of money charged consumers who were not using prepaid meters was too high. He called on the management of IBEDC to rectify the anomalies in their billing system.

Adejumo called on the the Federal Government to pay more attention to the activities of the electricity distribution companies, saying many of them were out to rip off consumers despite epileptic power supply.

One of the residents who spoke with CEOAfrica said he used to get a bill of N1, 200 per month but he was given a bill of N7,500 this month.

While reacting to the issue, Osun Regional Communication Officer of the company, Kike Owoeye, said the allegations against the company were not true.

She said: “Estimation billing might not be too perfect and that is why we have been asking those with complaints to come. Their complaints would be looked into.

“There are some meters in existence since 1955, these meters are already very old and they can no longer function very well. This is probably one of the reasons for some errors.

“The allegation of extortion is baseless. The amount charged is paid to designated banks. We don’t collect cash.

“A single phase meter is N24,832 and the amount is paid in bank. We always tell them not to pay cash to nobody and not to use intermediaries,” she noted.