Residents of Ifon, Ilobu and Erin-Osun have called on the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) to review their classification as Band A electricity customers, accusing the company of charging high tariffs despite persistent power outages.
The affected communities, located in Orolu and Irepodun local government areas, are reportedly paying more than ₦209.50 per kilowatt-hour under the Band A category, which requires a minimum average electricity supply of 20 hours daily.
The advocacy groups, including Dee Osun Monitors and Ominira Osun Advocacy Group, have petitioned the IBEDC Osogbo regional office, describing the classification as unfair and inconsistent with the electricity supply received by residents.
In their complaint, the groups said the affected communities regularly experience prolonged outages, with daily supply often falling significantly below the required threshold for Band A customers.
“Contrary to the NERC Service-Based Tariff Order, which stipulates a minimum of 20 hours average daily supply for Band A, our findings and community logs show that these areas receive less than 15 hours daily, often 8–12 hours, with frequent outages lasting days without explanation,” the groups stated.
To support their claims, Ominira Osun Advocacy Group said it monitored electricity supply in the Ifon-Orolu area for 15 days, from September 26 to October 10, 2026.
According to the group, the monitoring exercise recorded only 139.15 hours of electricity supply out of the expected 360 hours, representing an average of 9.28 hours daily.
The report also documented three days of complete blackout, September 28, October 3 and October 5 while supply fell below four hours on two other days.
The group said the exercise was conducted in line with NERC’s directive encouraging electricity customers to monitor and document their supply.
“In line with NERC’s directive that customers should monitor supply, we kept a verifiable Daily Electricity Supply Log for Ifon-Orolu from 26th September 2026 to 10th October, 2026 (15 days),” the group stated.
It added that the recorded figures raised questions about the justification for retaining the communities in Band A despite the reported shortfall in supply.
Residents also expressed concern that both prepaid meter users and customers on estimated billing continued to pay high charges despite the unreliable electricity supply.
“Despite this poor and irregular supply, IBEDC has continued to bill residents as Band A customers, with both prepaid meter users and those on estimated billing paying unjustly high charges. Several verbal complaints to your field officers and the Osogbo Business Hub have not yielded any positive result,” the petition stated.
The advocacy groups described the situation as exploitative and urged IBEDC to reconsider the classification of the affected communities, calling for their movement to a lower tariff band, such as Band D or E, in line with the actual level of service delivered.
“We find this act as exploitative, unjust, and a clear violation of NERC regulations. Your company is taking undue advantage of the patience and peaceful nature of our people to cash out through over-billing and wrongful categorization,” they said.
They also demanded appropriate billing adjustments, insisting that residents should not continue to pay Band A rates when the required minimum supply is allegedly not being met.
The groups urged IBEDC to address the complaints and ensure that electricity billing reflects the quality and duration of supply to the affected communities.