Types of Utility bills that are paid in Nigeria

Posted by Felix Okoli on Thursday January 25, 2018 at 17:53:47:

Living in Nigeria is not as expensive as living in some other richer countries of the world like but in Africa, the country is more expensive than to live in that most of her neighbouring ones.

There are a couple of utility bills that are paid in Nigeria by residents and their cost range depending on the location of the person making use of the service. People who live in developed cities with better public services in Nigeria tend to spend more on such bills than those living in the not so developed villages or rural areas.

Types of Utility bills paid may include:

1. Electricity bills: This can be prepaid or postpaid depending on the service available and it tends to be more costly in industrial areas than in residential areas. Electricity is not available everywhere in Nigeria and even in places where the facilities have been installed, supply is not always constant on a 24 hrs basis as Nigeria still struggles to meet the growing demand of it's huge population. The price or tariff of electricity has been rising since the 1980s. In the past, most electricity subscribers made use of post paid meters which required that bills are paid only after services have been consumed and it was mostly not directly related to the amount of electricity used as it was an estimated form of billing. Many Nigerians have complained against the monopoly and corruption of the then National Electric Power Authority which made the government controlled establishment to be gradually privatized and encouraged the rolling out of prepaid metering system. With the prepaid metering system, subscribers were not able to pay their bills in advance and ensure they only paid for what they were using. Electricity bills are the most common type of utility bills that are paid in Nigeria because everyone wants to have access to electricity.

2. Water bills: In many states of Nigeria, another form of utility bills which people pay is called Water bills. It is an estimated form of billing that is paid monthly by users which have been connected to a water source mostly provided by the state government and through the use of pipes. The government agency in change of collecting the Water bills is the Water Corporation and it has been in existence since the 1980s. However, due to the inefficiencies of the publicly owned water corporation, individuals in Nigeria have sunk their own water wells and install borehole pipes to get their own water. Those ones with a private owned water installation such as boreholes are not forced to pay Water rates or bills but only those who are still using the water supply provided by the Water corporation. However, the government in some states of Nigeria have been trying to make laws that impose a tax or privately owned water or borehole installations so as to generate more income from their natural resource.

3. Waste bills: This is another type of utility bill that is charged on residents in Nigeria in many states of the country. It is an utility bill that is required to be paid by residents who want to dispose of physical waste from their waste bins on a weekly or periodic basis. Some Nigerians prefer paying for this bill since the government already has established service providers who are working hard. However, people at times get discouraged from patronizing them or paying the bills when their service becomes inefficient. People at times patronize local truck pushers who can help dispose waste bills for a negotiable fee at a much faster and reliable pace than government approved Waste collectors. The government frowns at such unregistered waste collectors since they at times dispose waste at public places which are harmful to the environment. So, it's not exactly everyone that pays waste bills in Nigeria but it's a good thing to pay so as to keep the society cleaner.

4. Pay TV bills: Many Nigerians can now afford to pay for special TV services since they offer them a better view of the world unlike what obtains at local tv stations mostly owned by the government. While and ordinary TV with antennae in Nigeria can get UHF signals to display local tv stations, subscribers for a Pay TV service would have to pay a special fee periodically to get access to their service which are a mix of local and foreign TV stations and programmes. A popular Pay TV service in Nigeria is called DSTV and other providers includes Startimes and TSTV.

5. Telecommunication bills: This is a type of bill that is paid by those in Nigeria who are subscribed to a telecom operator or service provider. As at 2017, there were about 4 major Telecom services operating with the GSM licence and millions of people are registered with them. They offer both a prepaid and postpaid billing service and over the years, their profits have grown tremendously because many people here don't mind paying for it. The cost of making voice calls or getting internet service in Nigeria is relatively cheap and that's why it's become common for an average person to at least be signed up for a service plan with them. Bills for their service can be paid in advance or in arrears.