SAN FRANCISCO, June 10, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has announced its intention to enforce its decision of ensuring customers not given electricity meters are not disconnected from electricity supply grid.
The electricity regulatory agency gave the indication about the enforcement notice through its Twitter handle, @NERCNG.
It said the enforcement will target seven electricity distribution companies (DISCos) that have failed to comply with NERC’s Order 197/2020 on capping of unmetered residential (R2) and commercial (C1) electricity customers.
The affected DISCos include those in Benin, Enugu, Eko, Ikeja, Kano, Kaduna and Port Harcourt as they have been given 14 days, beginning from June 4, to explain why they should not be sanctioned over their alleged non-compliance.
THEWILL recalls that on February 20, NERC issued Order No/NERC/197/2020 on capping of estimated billings in Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
The Order repealed the NERC (Methodology for Estimated Billing) Regulations 2012 and placed a cap on estimated bill to unmetered customers by DISCos in the NESI effective February 20, 2020.
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The NERC said the order was to protect unmetered R2 (Residential-single and 3-phase meters, who consume more than 50kWh per month) and C1(Commercial-single and 3-phase meters, small businesses) customers from arbitrary billing and expedite their metering process.
Details of the order was for DISCos to ensure all tariff class A1 customers (customers using grid-connected premises for agriculture, schools, water boards, religious houses, government and teaching hospitals, etc,) requiring single or 3 phase meters were properly identified and metered latest by April 30.
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