NERC fines Eko, Ikeja, 6 other DisCos N628m for overbilling customers

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has fined eight electricity distribution companies (DisCos) N628.03 million for non-compliance with the capping of estimated bills for unmetered customers.

The commission disclosed this in a statement on its website on Thursday in Abuja.

The affected DisCos are – Abuja, Eko, Enugu, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, and Yola.

NERC said the action was in line with section 34(1)(d) of the Electricity Act 2023 (“EA 2023”)

It said the DisCos failed to fully comply with the monthly energy caps issued by the commission between July and September 2024.

The statement read: “The public may recall that in 2020, the commission issued the Order on Capping of Estimated Bills (Order No: NERC/197/2020) and subsequently issued monthly energy caps to align the estimated bills for unmetered customers with the measured consumption of metered customers on the same supply feeder.

”A review of DisCos’ billing of unmetered customers for July to September 2024 (2024/Q3) revealed non-compliance with the monthly energy caps issued by the commission.”

The commission also mandated the DisCos to issue commensurate credit adjustments to all customers affected by the overbilling by May 15.

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