The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has slammed Abuja, Eko, Enugu, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano and Yola electricity distribution companies with a N626 million fine for non-compliance with energy caps for unmetered customers.
This comes as the commission also mandated the eight DisCos to issue credit adjustments to all customers affected by the overbilling by 15th May 2025 — the end of the April 2025 billing cycle.
NERC made this known in a statement released on its X account Thursday.
According to NERC, the sanction is pursuant to Section 34(1) of the Electricity Act 2023.
The commission explained that the DisCos failed to comply with the monthly cap for estimated billing issued by it between July and September 2024 (2024/Q3).
“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, which aimed 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–September 2024 (2024/Q3) revealed non-compliance with the monthly energy caps issued by the Commission.
“The non-compliant DisCos have been sanctioned to pay fines amounting to six hundred and twenty-eight million, thirty-one thousand, five hundred and eighty-three naira and ninety-four kobo (N628,031,583.94), which is equivalent to 5 percent of the naira value of the gross overbilling for the period under review.
“The Commission has also mandated the DisCos to issue commensurate credit adjustments to all customers affected by the overbilling by 15th May 2025—the end of the April 2025 billing cycle,” the statement reads.
The NERC report for the third quarter of 2024 showed that Nigeria has 7,182,909 unmetered customers out of a total of 13,339,635 registered electricity customers.
Media Talk Africa recalls that in September last year, NERC also fined DisCos in Nigeria for overbilling infractions.
