The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday warned electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) not to forcefully migrate customers with faulty meters to estimated billing regime.
The warning came as the regulator reiterated its directive that the DisCos owe the obligation to replace faulty and old meters at no cost to customers, reports The Nation.
Also, some customers yesterday bemoaned what they described as a ploy by the DisCos to frustrate customers into accepting estimated billing by surreptitiously denying them access to reload energy credits.
In a statement yesterday, NERC stated that it had been notified that the DisCos were instructing customers to apply and make payments for the replacement of spoilt and obsolete meters in their franchise areas.
The regulator noted that such instruction by DisCos contravened the Commission’s Order No. NERC/246/2021on the Structured Replacement of Faulty and Obsolete end-use Customer Meters in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
The statement reads: “The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission is aware that some Distribution Companies (DisCos) have instructed customers to apply and pay for the replacement of faulty and obsolete meters within their franchise areas.
“This instruction contravenes the Commission’s Order No. NERC/246/2021 on the Structured Replacement of Faulty and Obsolete end-use Customer Meters in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.”
NERC reiterated that that no customer with a meter should be forcefully migrated to estimated billing.
According to the regulator, if any customer’s meter is adjudged by any DisCo to be obsolete or faulty, it is the responsibility of the DisCo to replace the meter free of charge, provided that the fault was not caused by the customer.
NERC restated its commitment to protect customers’ interests and rights by ensuring compliance with established regulatory standards and enforcing regulatory penalties for non-compliance by its licensees.
It urged the customers to report cases of non-compliance to its order by any DisCo through its designated channels.
Some consumers of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) and Ikeja Electric (IE), yesterday lamented their inability to load electricity tokens on their meters.
The situation has left several consumers stranded. A consumer on Lawanson, Surulere, under EKEDC, Cecilia Nwadie, said that several attempts to load her energy token in the last two days had been futile.
The effect of this is that she and her family has remained without power supply.
She said: “I tried to load my meter, but it failed. All that the meter indicated to me was “CALL”. When I eventually called EKEDC customer care, I was told that the meter has expired and that I should apply for another meter”.
For IE customers, it was mixed fortune. While some said they were able to load their tokens after several attempts, others insisted they have been unable to log onto the website provided by the utility for updates before the November 14 deadline.
An angry consumer of IE who identified himself as Ladi Ogundele, alleged that the ploy of the utility is to ensure consumers are placed on estimated billing just to exploit them.
He explained that the insistence of IE that consumers must pay for meter replacement even after a contrary directive by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and NERC is an indication that the game plan of the utility is to exploit customers.
The DisCo had been silent since the regulators wade in to ensure adherence to the rules.
“I think this is an acid test for both FCCPC and NERC. If they allow the DisCos to get away with this apparent disregard for customers, then both agencies of government would have failed,” Ogundele said.
