Band A: NERC Gives Fresh Directive To DisCos

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.

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“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.

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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.

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“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.