Following the rampant cases of blackout across the country, the federal government of Nigeria has threatened to sanction non-performing Distribution Companies (DisCos) in the country.
According to the stipulated sanctions which were unveiled by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) at the 1st Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry NESI Stakeholders Meeting of 2024 in Lagos, any DisCo that perform below stipulated are going to lose 50 per cent of their operating expenditures.
Speaking at the event, the Vice Chairman, NERC, Musiliu Useni, urged Discos to improve their performance or suffer consequences.
“NERC will look at performance on a case-by-case basis. Sanctions and actions will not be the same. Ensure that you (Discos) improve your efficiency.
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“If your efficiency is at the level expected, you will get your full OPEX (operating expenditure). If you don’t perform, you will only get 50 per cent of your admin OPEX” the posts read.
Speaking on the issue of metering customers, Dafe Akpeneye, NERC Commissioner, Legal, Licencing and Compliance condemned DisCos on the lack of communication to their customers waiting to be metered.
He disclosed that customers must be metered within 10 days of making payment and at no extra cost if prices increased.
“NERC expects DisCos to meter paid customers within 10 days. Currently, there is a communication gap with customers. Once they pay, you need to communicate with them and give them an installation date. Instead, the customer pays, hears nothing, & continues to wait in perpetuity.”
“You must meter customers at the price it was when they initially paid. You can’t charge them more.”