NANS Faults BEDC Over Poor Electricity to Delta Campuses

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), South-South Zone, has voiced strong dissatisfaction over the worsening electricity supply to tertiary institutions across Delta State. The association condemned the situation, stating that it has severely disrupted academic activities and negatively impacted student welfare, calling the development completely unacceptable.

In a formal letter addressed to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), the Zonal Coordinator, Comrade Victor Ogechukwu Anthony, alleged that reports from various campuses confirm persistent outages and poor service delivery. Issued from the NANS Zone B Secretariat in Ogwashi-Uku, the letter—titled ‘Urgent notice of discontent: Unacceptable epileptic power supply and fraudulent estimated billing across Delta State campuses’—noted that many students have endured weeks of erratic or near-zero electricity supply while still receiving excessive estimated bills from the company.

Anthony condemned this practice as a “pay-for-darkness” model, where consumers are charged for electricity not supplied, arguing that it violates the service-based tariff guidelines set by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). He further stressed that such a system represents not only a failure in service delivery but also a threat to the academic and financial stability of students who depend heavily on electricity for their studies and daily activities.

He called for an immediate end to the practice and demanded the transparent distribution of prepaid meters to all student-populated areas. According to Anthony, this move aligns with the Federal Government’s initiative to provide free meters and eliminate estimated billing, ensuring that students and residents are charged fairly for the electricity they actually receive.