Newsfront Online …Telling the Public as it is
Electricity customers lodged a total of 108, 542 complaints in November 2023, with 62.23 per cent bordering on meters, data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has shown. With more than seven million electricity customers in the country lacking access to meters, the regulator stipulates that the 12 distribution companies spend about N275 billion over the next four years to bridge the gap.
NERC mandated 11 electricity distribution companies to spend a total of N275 billion on electricity meters between 2024 and 2027. This is according to the Multi-Year Tariff Order from the NERC to all discos across the country. According to the NERC, each DisCo is meant to spend around N6.25 billion yearly on 65,000 electricity meters. In total, the 11 electricity distribution companies are projected to spend N275 billion in providing meters to consumers across the country. The move is part of measures to end the practice of estimated billing. The figure will enable DisCos to distribute 2.86 million electricity meters within the period.
The decision follows a review of the estimated number of meters prescribed by the Distribution companies to provide meters to customers within their jurisdiction. However, the approved figure for distribution falls far below the projected figure from the DisCos.
NERC also mandated the DisCos to provide N1.185/kWh to the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF). The Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) was set up to provide long-term financing to support the plans to close the current metering gap across the country. The fund will be centrally managed and provide security for the long-term financing. The current minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu estimates the number of unmetered customers between seven and eight million across the country.
The commission states that the total number of registered customers in the NESI as of November 2023 was 13,112,134, while the total number of metered customers was 5,799,095, while the metering rate was 44.23 per cent. According to the NERC, Ikeja Disco had the highest metering rate of 72.43 per cent, but was the only Disco that did not meter any customer in November 2023.
The other 10 power distribution companies provided meters for customers in their various franchise areas. According to the Metering and Customer Service Standards fact sheet released by commission, complaints on metering accounted for 62.23 per cent of the total of 108, 542 complaints received. Other complaints included billings, disconnections, interruptions, voltage, load shedding among others.
A breakdown showed that Ibadan Disco received the highest number of complaints (19,330), followed by Enugu and Port Harcourt Discos with 18, 453 and 17,864 complaints respectively. On the other hand, Aba Disco recorded the lowest ben 663
complaints.
NERC however said that of the 108,542 complaints received during the month, 103,898 were resolved indicating a 95.72 per cent resolution rate. The report also revealed that the highest complaint in the NESI in November was the lack of meters, as this accounted for 62.23 per cent of the total complaints in the sector during the review month.
Other categories of complaints include billing (9.33 per cent), interruption (8.27 per cent), disconnection (0.97 per cent), voltage (1.63 per cent), load shedding (0.28 per cent), delay in connection (0.17 per cent), and others (17.13 per cent).
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