The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has
instructed electricity distribution companies to downgrade customers in Band A
if they lack sufficient capacity for supply.
NERC’s Commissioner for Licensing and Legal Affairs, Dafe
Akpeneye, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning
Brief on Friday.
He stated that if the distribution companies are unable to
provide the promised 20 hours of electricity to Band A customers, those
customers should be promptly downgraded to a level that the companies can
adequately supply.
“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. When they can’t, the discos have to downgrade such customers,”
Akpeneye said.
He explained that NERC’s transfer of regulatory oversight to
the states is based on the Nigerian constitution, which empowers the states to
generate, transmit, and distribute power.
“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 up to the states
to exercise them. Every Nigerian comes from a state,” he said.
Regarding a surge in complaints by Disco customers, Akpeneye
stated that the commission has a customer protection regulation, which was
consolidated last year to safeguard customers seeking redress for their
complaints.
“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 within a specific time, you can now approach a small mediatory group
called the consumer forum of NERC for redress.
“The complaint process has gone well. We have seen
situations where complaints don’t get resolved by the discos, and they get
escalated to NERC, where they are 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.
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