"Where Is My Money?" — Customers Accuse Jos Electricity Company of Deducting Thousands from Prepaid SubscriptionsBy AfriWatch Nigeria Desk | April 11, 2026 | Nigeria & Consumer Affairs
Young Asanga's Story
Young Asanga, a customer in Plateau State, is one of the many Nigerians caught in what is fast becoming a widespread billing crisis.
"I purchased electricity worth ₦5,000," Asanga told AfriWatch. "But I was only given 4.5 units — which is equivalent to about ₦1,000 worth of electricity. That means ₦4,000 simply disappeared. Nobody explained where my money went."
His experience is far from isolated. Across the four states covered by JEDCO's franchise area, hundreds of customers have raised identical complaints, taking to social media and the company's official Facebook page — Jos Disco — to demand answers.
A Pattern of Shortchanging Customers
Investigations by AfriWatch, corroborated by reports from The Guardian Nigeria and Daily Post, reveal that the crisis erupted in the past week and has since spread across JEDCO's franchise area.
A Bauchi resident, Abubakar Usman, shared a near-identical experience. He said he recharged his prepaid meter with ₦5,000, expecting to receive 22.5 units of electricity as normal — but JEDCO gave him only 4.5 units instead.
Another Bauchi customer, Aisha Umar, was shocked to find a sudden outstanding debt of ₦15,000 on her meter — despite seven years of prompt payments and no history of estimated billing. "Where did the debt come from?" she asked. "We have never used estimated billing since we moved into this house."
On JEDCO's Facebook page, one user wrote: "I wanted to buy ₦5,000 electricity, but I saw ₦4,000 outstanding. I eventually got only ₦1,000 worth of units." Another customer, Lucy Jiksim, posted: "Jos Disco, can you please explain the outstanding debt showing on my meter?"
Adding to the confusion, JEDCO temporarily disappeared from the list of electricity providers on popular mobile vending apps such as BuyPower, with customers greeted by a "provider is not available" error message — leaving many unable to buy power at all.
Unexplained Debts: A Longstanding Problem
This latest crisis is not JEDCO's first brush with customer complaints. A separate investigation by local outlet WikkiTimes revealed that the company has for years been forcing customers in Bauchi communities to personally fund the repair of faulty transformers, electric poles, and cables — costs that, under the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) guidelines, are the legal responsibility of the distribution company.
Consumer advocate and journalist Sheila Shallangwa also flagged the issue of unexplained debt charges, alleging that some customers are being billed for debts they cannot account for — even in cases where meters have been in use for over 20 years.
In one documented case, when a customer challenged an unexplained charge at a JEDCO office, a company official reportedly claimed the charges were for units "preloaded on the meter at installation" that were now being recovered. The customer, however, countered that they were originally told the meters were provided free of charge, with any costs to be refunded through future electricity credits.
As of the time of this report, JEDCO had not issued a public statement addressing the current billing crisis.
Company's Response: "No Glitches"
In response to the flood of complaints, JEDCO's Head of Customer Service, Saratu Aliyu, told reporters that the company's system had no glitches and that its vending portal was functioning as expected.
That response has done little to calm furious customers. Many say the company's silence on the specifics — why units are being deducted, what the debts represent, and why the amounts differ so drastically from what customers paid — is itself part of the problem.
Calls for Government Intervention
Affected customers across Plateau and Gombe states are now calling on the Nigerian government to intervene urgently. Many are demanding that:
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) launch an independent investigation into JEDCO's billing practices
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) hold the company accountable for what customers describe as exploitation
JEDCO provide a transparent breakdown of how prepaid recharge amounts are calculated and deducted
All unexplained debts be reversed or fully explained to affected customers
The FCCPC has previously conducted a consumer engagement forum with JEDCO customers, where billing disputes, metering irregularities, and poor customer service were highlighted as major grievances. That forum, however, appears to have produced few lasting results.
The Bigger Picture
Nigeria's electricity sector has long been plagued by billing disputes, metering irregularities, and a lack of transparency that leaves consumers — many of whom can ill afford to lose money — at the mercy of distribution companies with little accountability.
For ordinary Nigerians already struggling with the rising cost of living, a ₦2,000 or ₦4,000 loss on an electricity recharge is not a minor inconvenience. It is money taken from food, school fees, and household survival.
Young Asanga summed up the frustration of thousands: "We are not asking for free electricity. We are asking for what we paid for. Is that too much?"
AfriWatch will continue to follow this story and report on any response from JEDCO or government regulatory bodies.
Do you have a similar experience with JEDCO or another electricity distribution company? Share your story with AfriWatch at afriwatchglobal.blogspot.com
Comments
Post a Comment