Many electricity consumers across Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, and Plateau states under the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDCO) franchise have complained of being shortchanged and allegedly assigned unexplained debts on their prepaid meters.
Some customers who spoke with DAILY POST said the issue began about five days ago.
They noted that JEDCO temporarily disappeared from the list of distribution companies on some mobile vending applications, with a notice indicating that the “provider is not available.”
Several affected customers took to the company’s official Facebook page to lodge complaints, alleging that the management had yet to respond to their concerns.
A Bauchi resident, Abubakar Usman, who is on a Band A feeder, said he received fewer units than expected after recharging.
“Two days ago, I recharged my prepaid meter with N5,000. I was supposed to get 22.5 units of electricity, but JEDCO gave me only 4.5 units,” he said.
Another customer in Bauchi, Aisha Umar, said her meter, which had no previous debt for about seven years, suddenly displayed an outstanding balance.
“My meter suddenly showed an outstanding debt of N15,000. We have never used estimated billing since we moved into this house. Where did the debt come from?” she asked.
On the company’s Facebook page, Lucy Jiksim wrote: “Jos Disco, can you please explain the outstanding debt showing on my meter?”
Another user also complained: “I wanted to buy N5,000 electricity, but I saw N4,000 outstanding. I eventually got only N1,000 worth of units.”
Responding, the company’s Head of Customer Service, Saratu Aliyu, said the system had no glitches and that the vending portal was functioning as expected.
She advised customers with genuine complaints to report to the nearest JEDCO office within the franchise states.
According to her, customers seeing debts on their meters are those with outstanding balances.
“We have introduced a debt recovery strategy. Customers owing below N1 million will have their debts spread, and they will be charged N2,000 monthly,” she said.
Aliyu added that customers should visit desk officers to verify their profiles and resolve any debt-related issues, maintaining that JEDCO remains available for vending on all mobile and financial applications.
