House of Reps passes bill to criminalize estimated billing

A bill seeking to criminalise estimated billing in Nigeria, has been passed by the House of Representatives. It was passed on Tuesday 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.