The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has vowed to henceforth deploy immediate corrective measures against regulatory breaches in the electricity sector.
Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Mr. Tunji Bello, who made the commitment at an Urgent Stakeholders Meeting on Electric Meter Issues on Tuesday in Abuja, said although Nigeria faces power shortages, these shortages cannot justify systemic abuses against consumers.
Bello maintained that the FCCP Act and current NERC regulations grant consumers rights, including rights to fair treatment and transparent billing.
He therefore called on Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, IEDC, to halt its meter transition programme, urging all DisCos to carry consumers along in the metering process, and classification of the electricity bands they use.
The meeting which was attended by regional electricity distribution companies, meter manufacturing firms, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, and the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, NEMSA, others came on the heels of the recent announcement by IEDC to phase-out the Unistar prepaid meter model with effect from November 14th, 2024.
The Executive Vice Chairman lamented that “Electricity should be reliable, accessible, and affordable. Unfortunately, the Nigerian electricity sector has long grappled with a range of consumer issues.
“From our analysis of consumer complaints, it is clear that electricity consumers routinely endure problems related to billing, metering, transformers, connections, disconnections, and customer service, among others.
“Regrettably, many of these challenges, from billing inaccuracies to inadequate customer care, are human-made. They stem from systemic inefficiencies and a troubling culture of impunity among certain service providers.”
He decried the practice of DisCos forcing consumers to pay upfront for meters without reimbursement, adding that the practice contradicts established guidelines under the NERC Meter Asset Provider and National Mass Metering Regulations 2021, which stipulate reimbursement through energy credits.
The FCCPC boss further stated that customers with faulty meters are randomly placed on estimated billing by some DisCos, a practice that is clearly prohibited by NERC.
Bello described the disregard for robust regulatory frameworks such as the NERC Meter Asset Provider and National Mass Metering Regulations 2021 and the Customer Protection Regulations 2023, by DisCos as unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated.
“From our analysis of consumer complaints, it is clear that electricity consumers routinely endure problems related to billing, metering, transformers, connections, disconnections, and customer service, among others.
On the announcement by Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company to phase out Unistar meters, he expressed concerns that the move leaves the possibility of consumers being placed on arbitrary estimated billing during the transition which would violate existing rules.
“This announcement has understandably caused widespread anxiety among consumers, who are already dealing with significant difficulties within and outside the electricity industry.
“For the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), it is troubling to witness consumers being exposed to additional hardship, with minimal information provided by the DisCo regarding this transition.
“In response, the FCCPC has convened this meeting to engage with key stakeholders, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), the twelve (12) DisCos and the manufacturer of the Unistar prepaid meter model.
“Our objective is to ensure that every metering process remains transparent and accountable, prioritising the interests of consumers,” he said.
According to him, the meeting was aimed at clarifying the phase-out process and advise DisCos to bear the replacement costs for their meters without imposing additional charges on consumers.
He expressed the Commission’s commitment to enforcing strict adherence to regulatory guidelines, ensuring that consumers are neither unfairly charged nor randomly subjected to estimated billing.
