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Customers Tired Of Estimated Billing, FG Warns Discos

Published

9 months ago

Feb 14, 2024.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Federal Government has issued a stern warning to power distribution companies (Discos), cautioning them against persisting with estimated billing practices amidst growing frustration among electricity consumers.

Addressing investors and owners of Discos in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) during a meeting in Lagos State, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) emphasized the urgent need for consumers to be metered accurately to reflect their actual power usage.

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The absence of adequate meters has been a long-standing concern in the power sector, leading to rampant over-billing of consumers by Discos through estimated billing methods.

According to reports, over 7.1 million unmetered electricity consumers were overcharged between January and September 2023, totaling over N105 billion in over-billing revenues for the Discos.

During the meeting, the Chairman of NERC, Sanusi Garba, stressed the pivotal role of metering in addressing liquidity challenges within the NESI. He reiterated consumers’ demand for fair billing based on actual consumption rather than estimations.

Eriye Onagoruwa, the Team Lead (Power) from the Office of the Special Adviser on Energy to the President, highlighted the substantial metering gap in the sector. She outlined the Presidential Metering Initiative’s strategies to bridge this gap, including bulk procurement of smart meters and reduction of losses.

Discos

Nathan Rogers, the Commissioner for Finance and Management Services at NERC, clarified that consumers should not bear the cost of meters when Discos fail to provide them promptly. He emphasized that any price adjustments for meters should not burden consumers who have already paid for the service.

Dafe Akpeneye, the Commissioner for Legal, Licensing, and Compliance at NERC, criticized Discos for their lack of communication with customers awaiting meter installations. He stressed the need for transparency and prompt installation after payments are made.

To curb over-billing practices, NERC recently announced sanctions against Discos found in violation of monthly energy caps for unmetered customers. The commission pledged to deduct N10,505,286,072 from the annual revenues of the 11 Discos during the next tariff review.