Royal Gardens Estate Residents Reject Bulk Metering System

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Residents of Royal Gardens Estate in Ajah, Lagos, have demanded the scrapping of bulk metering system put in place by the developer of the facility, Trojan Estate.

Appearing before the Lagos State House Committee on Housing on Tuesday in Ikeja, the residents, through the chairman of Royal Gardens Estate Residents Association (RGERA), Mr Anthony Ogbebor, also asked for full transparency in the collection and use of service charges in the estate by the manager of the property.

The parliament asked parties to appear before it with a view to finding a lasting solution to the issues between RGERA and Trojan Estate.

It was alleged that the developer of the estate refused to allow Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) to provide prepaid meters to individuals in the estate.

The place has been without public electricity since May 2024, according to Mr Ogbebor, forcing residents to cry out to the Lagos State House of Assembly for intervention.

Appearing before the House Committee chaired by Mr Segun Ege, the residents said their community had endured unfair practices for more than a decade, which worsened in the last 18 months.

Mr Ogbebor claimed the controversial bulk-metering system introduced after the estate’s communal generator failed to meet demand. Under this arrangement, all households are connected to a single meter in the common area, leaving residents collectively liable for the entire bill.

“Right now, I have over 4,000 units on my prepaid meter but no electricity because of the bulk meter system. We have met our obligations but are being punished by a system that is clearly against the law,” he lamented.

“EKEDC has confirmed its willingness to meter us directly. Yet the developer, who does not live here, insists on a system that is crippling residents financially,” he further alleged.

The crisis deepened in April 2024 when electricity tariffs spiked from N74 per kilowatt hour to N241. Because of bulk metering, the increase was applied wholesale, raising the estate’s monthly bill from about N60 million to nearly N290 million. With residents unable to pay, the estate has been in total blackout since May 26, 2024.

He accused Trojan Estate of ignoring several invitations from the Nigerian Electricity Commission (NEC) to mediate and instead challenged the regulator’s jurisdiction in court. The case, pending for over a year, has yet to be decided.

“We do not want to take the law into our hands. That is why we are appealing to the House to intervene. This is about fundamental human rights,” Mr Ogbebor stressed.

Lawmakers at the hearing reportedly directed Trojan Estate to produce documents on the court case and promised to revisit the matter. One option being considered is seeking the intervention of the Chief Judge to expedite judgment.

As of press time, Trojan Estate had yet to publicly respond to the allegations.