The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has ordered electricity distribution companies 9DisCos) to prioritise metering for unmetered Band A customers current on estimated billings.
NERC Vice Chairman, Dr. Musiliu Oseni also disclosed that there are about 15 to 20 percent of Band A customers currently on estimated billing.
He spoke during an engagement with Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) and Community Based Organisations (CPOs) in Abuja, on Monday.
NERC Commissioner, Legal, Licencing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, harped on NERC’s new powers to wholly carry out more enforcement and regulatory actions.
He said: “The EPSRA 2005 did not adequately empower NERC to do all that it has to do as a regulator but that has changed now with the enactment of the Electricity Act. It is needed to bring people in line to follow due process, and you can see that the tone in the power sector is changing; we have not been able to do what we have been able to do before. NERC is empowered to go the whole gamut of regulatory and enforcement actions as expected of a regulator but we do not intend to abuse those powers. Our intention is to enforce those powers and to get licensees to comply.”
NERC Commissioner, Planning, Research and Strategy, Dr. Yusuf Ali, said: “We are your partners in progress and the good intent of the action is always good to go with it. What we need from you is, please verify facts and ask us questions to have an informed perspective. As you proceed to protect customers, always ensure that you engage with us and with those facts, you can get some level of objectivity. We will want to have this kind of meeting regularly so that you can be educated and when you are, you can better engage with electricity consumers.”
