The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has directed electricity distribution companies to immediately downgrade customers in the Band A category if they fail to provide the promised 20 hours of electricity supply.
The Commissioner of Licensing and Legal for NERC, Dafe Apkeneye, stated this on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Friday.
He said, “If the Discos cannot meet the promised 20 hours to Band A customers, the customers are to immediately be downgraded to the level for which the discos can meet supplies.
“With regards to the migration order, it 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 Discos can’t supply such customers, the discos have to downgrade such customers to meet what they can provide.
“The distribution can distribute what is only available on the grid. So when there is no supply to the grid, the Discos can’t meet those supply commitments.
“But the grid has been resolved, and we hope supply can improve, and when they can’t, the Discos have to downgrade such customers.”
With regards to NERC transferring regulatory oversight to states, Apkeneye said states have been empowered by the constitution to generate, transmit, and distribute power.
“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.