NERC Fines AEDC, EKEDC, Others as Report Shows Overbilling Tops Customers' Complaint
- The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, 1,220,245 complaints were made in 2023 via its customer complaint centres
- Among other things, the concerns included load shedding, power outages, disconnections, overbilling, metering, and reconnecting delays.
- In 2023, the Discos received N1.07 trillion in money from their patrons, while they were paid N1.46 trillion in total
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission reports that 1,220,245 complaints were filed through its customer complaints units in 2023, with the majority of the complaints being related to electricity users' overbilling and metering.
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The Punch reported that the complaints concerned load shedding, power disruptions, disconnections, overbilling, metering, and delays in reconnection, among other issues, according to a report released by the commission on Monday.
“The total number of complaints received across all Discos (distribution companies) in 2023 was 1,220,245. Ibadan and Port Harcourt Discos received the highest complaints (207,216 and 205,054 representing 16.98 per cent and 16.80 per cent of total complaints respectively). In comparison, Aba and Yola Discos had the lowest complaints (4,029 and 11,930 representing 0.33 per cent and 0.98 per cent of the total complaints respectively).
“Cumulatively, 1,156,553 were resolved yielding a resolution rate of 94.78 per cent. The most common issues among the complaints received by Discos during the year were metering (53.09 per cent), billing (16.30 per cent), and service interruption (8.16 per cent). These three (complaints categories cumulatively accounted for 77.55 per cent of the total complaints in the year,” the report stated.
The research stated that Nigerian electricity distribution companies made N1.07 trillion in revenue in 2023.
According to NERC, the Discos' total revenue from customers in 2023 was N1.07 trillion, while the total amount they were charged by the customers was N1.46 trillion.
It added that this resulted in an unpaid sum of N385.73 billion, or 73.64 percent, of outstanding debt.
NERC claimed that this suggests that, in 2023, DisCos invoiced customers for N100 worth of energy, of which N26.36 was not recouped from them.
According to the regulator, the industry's financial liquidity has been negatively impacted by low collection efficiency and inefficient billing, which has eventually hindered the growth and capabilities of the power supply sector to draw in investment.
Only the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company had a collection efficiency above 90% during the assessment period. The regulator claimed this was partially because, as of the end of 2023, the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company had the highest total metering rate (72.54%) among the DisCos.
Eko and Abuja Discos, with collection efficiency of 84.31% and 80.19%, respectively, trailed the IKEDC.
But according to the research, Yola Disco had the lowest collecting efficiency, at 43.56 percent.
The Federal Government provided N610 billion in electricity subsidies during the year.
According to the NERC, the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc issued invoices of N1.29tn, of which N685.69bn was the cumulative Minimum Remittance Obligation for Discos. This means that the government incurred a subsidy obligation of N610.06bn (47.08 per cent of total NBET invoices).
The study further stated that in 2023, NBET and Market Operator sent DisCos an MRO-adjusted invoice for N858 billion for energy costs and administrative services.
“The Discos remitted a total of N706.73bn resulting in a deficit of N151.30bn during the year – this underpayment is known as “market shortfall”. Based on the above, the gross DisCo remittance rate to the upstream segment for 2023 was 82.37 per cent,” the report disclosed.
NERC fines electricity distribution company
Legit.ng reported that Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has been fined N1.69 billion by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission for overcharging customers.
As per NERC's statement, the fine is due to AEDC's disregard for the commission's previous order restricting projected billing for power users.
The fine was specified in the official "Order NERC/2024/114" that the commission issued.
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