How to track estimated bills, avoid being short-changed by DisCos, FCCPC advises electricity consumers

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), has provided a guide to electricity consumers on how to track their bills even with the estimated billing by the electricity distribution companies.

The initiative by the commission is to help reduce discrepancies with the estimated billing by electricity distribution companies as well as avoid being unfairly short-changed.

This disclosure is contained in a notice titled, ‘A guide for unmetered electricity consumers’, issued by FCCPC, on Sunday and can be seen on the commission’s official Twitter account.

FCCPC advised electricity consumers to always check their monthly bills for tariff band (expected hours of daily power supply), noting that a consumer could contest his or her tariff band if the supply fell short of the required hours over a 60-day cycle.

 The commission also advised consumers to check the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Amended Order on capping of estimated bills for their distribution company and ensure that their estimated consumption does not exceed the stipulated cap for their area.

The commission stated, “Find out the price per KWh of your electricity from your monthly bill. Your bill is calculated by multiplying the estimated energy by the current tariff plus 7.5 per cent VAT.