The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has instructed electricity distribution companies (discos) to downgrade customers in Band A categories if they are unable to meet the required supply capacity.
NERC’s Commissioner for Licensing and Legal Affairs, Dafe Apkeneye, made this announcement on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Friday.
He explained that if discos fail to provide the promised 20 hours of supply to Band A customers, these customers should be downgraded to a supply level that the discos can reliably meet.
“With regards to the migration order is not elective to the instance of the customer. The disco needs to make an application and ensure that they can supply power to customers in Band A.
If distribution companies (Discos) are unable to supply their customers in Band A, they are required to downgrade them to a supply level that they can meet. The distribution companies can only provide what is available on the grid, and if there is a lack of supply to the grid, they cannot fulfill their commitments. However, Apkeneye noted that the grid issues have been addressed, and supply is expected to improve. In cases where the Discos are still unable to meet their commitments, they must downgrade the affected customers accordingly.
Regarding NERC’s oversight, Apkeneye explained that states have been granted the power by the Nigerian constitution to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity, and NERC’s role in this regard may evolve as states take on more responsibility in the sector.
“States can now establish electricity markets, and regulate them by the Nigerian constitution. States now have powers for electricity generation, transmission and distribution within the states without restrictions.
“We should bear in mind that Nigeria is a country of laws. The Nigerian law states that the states have the power to establish and regulate electricity markets. The states also now have exclusive powers over distribution as seen in the concurrent list.
“With the states having such powers, it is of the states to exercise. Every Nigerian comes from a state. The states have the capacity, and as we speak, the team from Oyo State has issued us a notice, and they are currently spending a week in the commission, understudying what we do. Before coming to the commission, they have been to Ghana. They have also had an intensive 11-week training session with an international regulatory body. So the states are going to build capacity, learn and grow,” he said.
On customers seeking redress on complaints, NERC said the commission has a customer protection regulation which we consolidated and codified last year, to protect customers.
“Before a customer can have their complaints addressed by NERC, they first have to lodge a complaint at the Discos. If the Disco doesn’t respond at a specific time, you can now approach a small mediatory group called the consumer forum of NERC for redress.
“The complaint process has gone on well. We have seen situations where complaints don’t get resolved by the discos and get escalated to NERC and they get resolved. We always ensure that customers get a fair resolution.
“Where a customer has been overbilled, they get fair redress. But when customers bypass meters, we also make sure the case gets addressed appropriately,” he said.