NERC slams N628 million fines on AEDC, IKEDC, six different DisCos over breach of estimated billing cap
The Nigerian Electrical energy Regulatory Fee (NERC) has penalised eight electrical energy distribution firms (DisCos) for failing to stick to the month-to-month vitality caps imposed on estimated billing for unmetered prospects.
The infractions, which occurred between July and September 2024, spotlight persistent issues round regulatory compliance throughout the Nigerian Electrical energy Provide Trade (NESI).
In response to a regulatory discover revealed on NERC’s X (previously Twitter) account on Thursday, the affected DisCos embody Abuja Electrical energy Distribution Firm (AEDC), Ikeja Electrical (IKEDC), Eko Electrical energy Distribution Firm (EKEDC), Enugu Electrical energy Distribution Firm (EEDC), Jos Electrical energy Distribution Firm (JEDC), Kaduna Electrical, Kano Electrical energy Distribution Firm (KEDCO), and Yola Electrical energy Distribution Firm (YEDC).
NERC discover learn, partially, “The general public could recall that in 2020, the Fee issued the Order on Capping of Estimated Payments (Order No: NERC/197/2020) and subsequently issued month-to-month vitality caps which aimed to align the estimated payments for unmetered prospects with the measured consumption of metered prospects on the identical provide feeder.
“A assessment of the DisCos billing of unmetered prospects for July – September 2024 (2024 Q3) revealed non-compliance with the month-to-month vitality caps issued by the Fee,” NERC famous.
NERC said that the distribution firms violated the provisions of the Capping Order, which limits the quantity DisCos can cost unmetered prospects based mostly on their common consumption in the identical space. By breaching these caps, the DisCos billed prospects quantities increased than allowed, thereby exploiting unmetered electrical energy shoppers.
The Fee has imposed a mixed effective of over N628 million on the eight DisCos. Along with the financial penalties, NERC directed every firm to supply credit score changes to all affected prospects by Might 15, 2025.
Breakdown of penalties
Whereas NERC didn’t instantly launch a full breakdown of how a lot every DisCo is to pay, the Fee clarified that the credit score changes should mirror on prospects’ accounts in a verifiable and auditable method.
The fines, it added, have been calculated based mostly on the amount of extreme billing and the length of the infractions.
This enforcement motion is a part of NERC’s broader regulatory efforts to curb estimated billing abuse and fast-track the deployment of pay as you go meters underneath the Nationwide Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) and different metering initiatives.
What this implies for shoppers
Affected prospects can count on a discount of their subsequent electrical energy payments because the DisCos apply the mandatory credit score changes.
NERC has suggested prospects to observe their payments intently and report any discrepancies by way of the Fee’s complaints channels or their respective DisCos’ buyer care models.
