Types of Utility Bills in Nigeria: Full List
In Nigeria, there are different types of utility bills that are paid by residents in various states to use certain basic services/amenities. These bills ranges from electricity or NEPA bills, cable television bills, water bills, and even data bills to use the internet. We shall provide information on the several types of utility bills in Nigeria as at this 2024.
TYPES OF UTILITY BILLS IN NIGERIA (2024)
The following are all types of utility bills to be paid by residents in Nigeria.
ELECTRICITY BILL
Also known as NEPA bill, utility bill payments for electricity are among the most popular utility bills paid in Nigeria. Anyone who utilizes the free electricity provided by the Nigerian Electrical Distribution Companies is required by the law to pay for it. In Nigeria, the most prevalent methods of paying for energy consumption are prepaid and postpaid electricity bills. In order for Nigerian citizens and businesses to only pay for the precise amount of energy used by their homes, workplaces, or industrial facilities, the prepaid method of electricity payment was created. On the other hand, when Nigeria’s National Energy Power Authority (NEPA) now PHCN was in charge of electricity distribution, the postpaid method of paying electricity bills was the most common. Postpaid electricity payment, which typically takes the form of projected billing, necessitates making payments only after electricity has been used.
WATER BILL
Several populations in some states of Nigeria, including Enugu, rely on water provided by the government through the Water Corporation of the state. Residents are required to pay water bills each month or at predetermined intervals in order to use the provided public water supply. Despite the Water Corporation’s existence since the 1980s, because of its inefficiency, many Nigerians have turned to drilling water wells and putting in borehole pipelines to obtain their own water installed in their residences, workplaces, or other structures.
SERVICE CHARGES
In order to perform maintenance and repairs within an estate or apartment block, service charges are a type of utility bill that are typically imposed on people who live in houses in estates or apartments in blocks. This utility bill is typically mentioned in the lease or rental agreement, clearly specifying the amount to be paid and the frequency of payments required. Service fees help to keep the estate or apartment building operating smoothly by funding things like landscape maintenance, gutter and drainage cleaning, and estate employee salaries.
CABLE TV SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES
Among the common utility bills paid by many Nigerians is cable TV subscription. Popular cable TV providers like DSTV, TSTV, and Startimes provide Nigerians with a variety of subscription plans to watch premium television content, including sports, soap operas, reality TV shows, and more. Prior to having access to the shows and TV stations included in their chosen bouquet, subscribers to either of these cable television service providers must make recurring payments, often once per month. Additionally, Nigerians pay to access a selection of films and series on the online streaming services Netflix and Showmax.
WASTE MANAGEMENT BILL
Residents in many states in Nigeria pay for their trash to be picked up by accredited government waste management organizations or by non-profit waste management companies. These waste disposal organizations pick up trash cans on a weekly or irregular basis in the majority of Nigerian states. The Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Waste Point Limited, Del Waste Management Company and Tuka Resources Ventures are a few examples of such waste collection companies in Nigeria. These waste management businesses occasionally fail to collect garbage or rubbish from locals on time. As an alternative, residents hire neighborhood truck pushers to dispose of their trash more quickly and cheaply. However, the government disapproves of this since some of these unauthorized garbage disposal sites dump rubbish on public roadways and other undesignated dump sites.
SECURITY LEVY
In some areas in Nigeria, this is commonly referred to as “vigilante dues.” The purpose of this kind of utility bill is to deter theft, burglary, and other criminal actions that take place at nighttime in residential areas. Residents of residential estates are typically subject to security fees levied by the estate’s management, such as the Community Development Authority (CDA). As long as every household continues to pay its fair share toward security, the protection provided will benefit all contributing households.
TELEPHONE & INTERNET BILL
The Nigerian Communication Commission estimated that 195.4 million people were subscribers to the 4 major telecommunications companies as of March 2021. In a similar manner, NBC pegged the number of internet users in Nigeria at around 141 million. The main GSM-licensed telecom companies are MTN, 9mobile, Airtel, and GLO, and they offer internet and phone services to their customers. Although the cost of voice and data calls varies from one telecommunications provider to another, they are still relatively inexpensive for the average person to afford. Depending on the subscriber’s preference, payment for various services provided by telecommunications firms may be made either in advance or in arrears.
CONCLUSION
In Nigeria, paying utility bills has gotten a lot simpler as a result of the availability of a number of online gateway payment systems. Customers of Nigerian banking institutions are now able to use their mobile banking applications to pay for services like electricity, water bills, garbage collection, cable tv subscriptions, and the internet. Nigerians can pay their utility bills using any data-enabled device, such as an Android smartphone, tablet, or laptop, using fintech platforms like Flutterwave, Opay, and Quickteller.
