Nigerians are used to putting resources together to purchase infrastructure required for electricity distribution in their communities, but the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has said it is not the duty of customers to purchase these materials.
NERC warns Nigerians against paying for electricity distribution infrastructure
NERC in a statement issued via X yesterday, clarified that it is the duty of electricity distribution companies, DisCos to provide the necessary infrastructure, such as electric poles, cables, transformers and others to communities while aiding the execution of their job.
According to NERC, it was unlawful for DisCos to compel customers to purchase these materials. The commission urged consumers to report any coercion or delays in providing necessary materials by the distribution companies.
NERC, while assuring the public of prompt response upon receiving such complaints, also stated that it has made available, a dedicated email and phone number through which customers can report issues related to network investments.
The statement reads, “Is your distribution company expecting you to buy transformers, cables, or poles? Don’t! It is the DisCo’s obligation, not yours!” NERC stated emphatically.
“Report any coercion to purchase, or delays in providing these materials to NERC for prompt action.”
“A dedicated email and phone number have been set up to address issues relating to investments in the network as follows: idn@nerc.gov.ng 07074865354.”
NERC rolls out sanctions against Discos over blackout
In another development, NERC says it has rolled out modalities to sanction DisCos that commit infractions capable of inflicting pain on consumers.
The regulatory body made this known in its latest order on Performance Monitoring Framework for all the DisCos which was issued on July 5, 2024.
NERC Chairman, Sanusi Garba, said the “order is issued without prejudice to the existing obligations and commitment of DisCos as provided in executed contracts and extant rules in the NESI.”
According to NERC, it would henceforth, reduce five per cent of the administrative and operational expenditure of any electricity distribution company that failed to offtake at least 95 per cent of the total energy allocated to it for distribution, adding that DisCos would now be assessed on seven key performance indicators.
According to the commission, these indicators include energy off-take relative to partial contracted capacity, revenue recovery rate, compliance with reporting of a uniform system of accounts, compliance with API feeder streaming, compliance with the order on capping of estimated bills compliance with the implementation of forum decisions and compliance with service standards for the resolution of complaints received through the NERC contact centre and NERC headquarters.
The commission stated that, should any DisCo fail to off-take up to 95 per cent of available nominations in any month, a rectification directive will be issued, adding that, should any DisCo off-take up to 95 per cent of available nominations in two of the three months in any quarter, a downward adjustment of DisCos guaranteed Admin OpEx by 5 per cent will be implemented for the next quarter.
The statement also addressed the issue of DisCos overbilling customers, adding that, should any distribution company be found wanting, 10 per cent of the naira value of the total over-billing for the period will be deducted from its annual Admin OpEx allowance during the next tariff review and credit adjusted for overbilled customers.
The statement further noted that any Disco that does not comply to the resolution of complaints through NERC contact centre or headquarters after the expiration of timelines in the CPR, would be made to pay fines within the first month -billing: N10,000 per day; disconnection: N2,000/day; interruption: N2,000/day; metering: N1,000/day; delay in connection: N1,000/day; Voltage: N1,000/day.
Also, the statement noted that if after two months, the DisCo has not complied to the consumer complaints resolutions, “The commission may take other enforcement actions including the withdrawal of the KYL of the head of customer service or the officer responsible for resolving customer complaints in the utility.”
It read in part:
“If the energy overbilled is greater than 20 per cent of the allowed cap or the number of customers overbilled represent is greater than 20 per cent of unmetered customer base, the Commission may take other enforcement actions including the withdrawal of the KYL of the Head of Billing or the officer responsible for the billing function in the utility.
“The NERC order stated that during the effective period of Order No. NERC/320/2022, the commission undertook periodic evaluation of the performance of the DisCos vis-à-vis the set targets and regulatory interventions were taken in line with the provisions of the order and extant rules of the commission.”
The commission noted that the DisCo’s inability to fully comply with all the KPIs contained in Order No. NERC/320/2022 has led to the failure of the distribution companies to meet their operational obligations, widespread customer dissatisfaction, undermined their ability to uphold market discipline and imperilled the long-term financial sustainability of the utilities
“The imposition of the consequential regulatory interventions specified in this Order shall not be construed as a limitation or foreclosure of the power of the commission to impose any other enforcement sanction under the Electricity Act or any other regulatory instrument.”
