Tariff hike: 20%of customers under Ban A yet to get prepaid meters — NERC

Ilenre Irele

Gives marching orders to DisCos to prioritize metering

As estimated billings cripple businesses

THE Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has given a grim figure of about 20 per cent of consumers, including homes and businesses under band A that are to be provided with prepaid meters by Discos.

The implication is that up to date, their bills are based on arbitrary estimation.

For clarity, Band A customers are those in the category of people or businesses that enjoy a minimum of 20 hours of electricity daily, who are supposed to know and control their bills, according to the NERC

Findings by EnergyDay have shown that the development would impact negatively on implementation of the new tariff, which has been increased by 230 per cent to N225 per kilowatt-hour, from N68 per kilowatt-hour.
Vice Chairman, NERC, Dr Musiliu Oseni, highlighted the commission’s metering plans at a meeting with Civil Society Organisations and Community-Based Organisations in Abuja.
He stated that : “On metering, we still have about 15 to 20 per cent of the Band A customers that are not metered and that has to be a priority of the DisCos.
“There are various initiatives of the presidency and the NESI to ensure metering. The most important thing is that efforts are being made to meter customers starting from those that are being affected now on Band A.”

Nigerians have reacted to the disclosures, blaming NERC for laxity in its oversights. Dr.Olufemi Omoyele, a commentator on economy said ” if NERC had been alive to its responsibilities over time such things would not have happened, the expectation was that the regulator would protect Nigerian people against such arbitrariness but the reverse is the case. It needs to sit tight and do the needful.
This was the position of Alfred Lawani, a civil servant who said that ” Until NERC stops being on bed with Discos these power companies will continue to cheat Nigerians with arbitrary billings without electricity. I don’t just understand this country.”