- The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission will penalise distribution companies daily for meters not migrated by January 2025
- The NERC directed DisCos to conclude meter migration to avoid service disruption
- The commission also reiterated that DisCos are responsible for replacing obsolete or faulty meters
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says it will impose daily penalties of an undisclosed amount on electricity distribution companies (DisCos) for unmigrated meters by January 2025.
The commission directed DisCos to conclude the migration of Standard Transfer Specification Meters for all their customers to prevent service disruption.
The NERC stated this during the Q4 Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) stakeholders’ meeting, according to a post on its official X handle on Tuesday.
It stated, “NERC has directed Discos to rapidly conclude the migration of STS-Meters for all their customers to prevent disruption of service.
“During the Q4 NESI Stakeholders Meeting, the commission warned that daily penalties would be imposed for each meter not migrated effective from 1st January 2025.”
DisCos are responsible for replacing obsolete meters
The commission further stated that DisCos are saddled with the responsibility of replacing all obsolete or faulty meters within their franchise without any financial costs to customers.
It said the directive is in line with the Customer Protection Regulation of 2023, adding that DisCos should not transfer customers to estimated billing.
The NERC said, “The commission further emphasised the responsibility of the Discos to replace all obsolete/faulty meters within their franchise.
“Under the provisions of the Customer Protection Regulation 2023, the commission noted that Discos are neither allowed to charge customers for the replacement of obsolete/faulty meters nor transfer customers to estimated billing.”
DisCos had announced meter phase-out
Recall that the NERC stated that the burden of replacing meters rests squarely on the shoulders of DisCos, while also frowning at the estimated method of billing customers.
There have been reports of some electricity companies requiring customers to replace Unistar prepaid meters. Ikeja Electric announced that the Unistar prepaid meters, which were first deployed over a decade ago, will no longer be supported from November 14, 2024, due to technological upgrades and the Token Identifier (TID) rollover issue.
The announcement generated widespread complaints from customers, prompting the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to warn DisCos against unfair practices in meter replacement.
The FCCPC further directed DisCos to immediately halt the replacement of Unistar prepaid meters due to their non-compliance with directives from the NERC, adding that all unfair actions and practices against consumers by DisCos, such as arbitrary billing and lack of transparency in metering, are unacceptable and urged them to adhere to extant rules and regulations.
The Consumer Protection Commission also reiterated that DisCos should bear the cost of replacing phased-out meters.
Nigeria loses $26bn yearly to electricity shortages –Report
Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that Nigeria suffers an estimated annual economic loss of $26 billion due to electricity shortages, according to a report, Africa Trade Barometer, by the Standard Bank.
According to the report, businesses shore up electricity shortages by spending nearly $22 billion annually on off-grid fuel, which leads to increased operational costs.
