The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has been in the forefront of regulating and overseeing the activities of the Stakeholders involved in electricity supply in Nigeria.
The Commission remains unperturbed with regards to the challenges involved in ensuring that Nigerians enjoy constant power supply.
However, the commission has a huge task as there are enormous challenges in carrying out the duty in Nigeria. In this write-up, Energy Frontier takes a look at the activities of the Stakeholders in the Electricity Value Chain.
The Role of NERC
Set minimum standards and regulations, while state governments implement additional requirements or regulations that are tailored to their local needs.
Collaboration with critical state and FG stakeholders is necessary in order to adequately drive implementation of the amendment process
Energy transactions across borders, transmission of the national grid, etc
Ensure reliability, safety and security of supply to customers. All this is in addition to NERC’s existing statutory functions
Provision of regulatory and executive guidance in a timely manner to ensure states hit the ground running. Establishment of legal mechanisms to resolve disputes or conflict between federal and state law.
NERC continues to provide the required leadership, guidance, and necessary support.
Periodic engagements of all stakeholders for better synergy, identification of priorities and alignment for the implementation of the amendment provisions
Necessary investments by state governments via public and/or private funding
Challenges
The challenges are as follows: Energy theft, Meter Bye-Pass, indebtedness of Post Paid Meter users, analogue Meter users and the unmetered Households, inability of the Discos to carry out their duties and crazy bills.
Energy theft: This is stealing power supply without paying for the electricity supply. Lots communities and organisations are involved in the unwholesome practice of stealing electricity supply without paying for it.
Meters
Meter Bye-Pass: This is compromising the Pre-Paid Meter or tampering with it so that it will not reading accurately the power consumed. However, investigations show that the Community or organisations cannot engage in the unwholesome practice without involving officials of the Discos. It is gathered that these officials go about every month collecting money from those involved as they are not paying accurate charges commensurate to the Electricity supplied. In order words giving the perpetrators protection.
Indebtedness of Post-paid Meter Users or Analogue Meter users
Many households owe Discos Hundreds of thousands, yet they enjoy power supply. Every the officials go round to disconnect those owing, the households bribe them and the debt keep accumulating.
Transformer
Unwholesome attitude of Disco Officials: Corrupt practices are not only found with electricity users. The Officials of the Discos also engage in corrupt practices which has contributed to darkness in some communities due to unavailability of power supply. Energy Frontier can confirm that some communities are made to pay for replacements of bad transformers even when the Discos have those items in their store. Whereas they get approval from NERC to replace those bad transformers and other infrastructures. Sadly after the communities have contributed money to buy the transformer, they will be made to sign an under taken, that the property belongs to the Disco. And after signing that the transformer bought by the community belongs to the Disco, they may still be required to pay before lighting the transformer, that is, before connecting the transformer to the Electricity cables.
Crazy Bills
Crazy bill is another problem bedevilling households with Analogue meters. The meter is not read most times, instead they get estimated billing which may not be accurate with what they consume.
NERC engagement with Stakeholders
NERC has continued in carrying out stakeholder’s engagement by way of going round to sensitise the Communities about their right and duties. NREC says that it is not the duty of Communities to replace faulty transformers or cables. But the commission cannot be everywhere at the same time. And that is why some officials of the Discos take advantage of the ignorance of the Communities to extort money from them or when the community is under pressure to get power supply, they will be forced to part with some money provided they get power supply.
Inability of the Discos to carry out their duties
When a Disco is unable to get accurate payment for electricity supplied, it affects its operations in terms of replacement of faulty infrastructures and also fulfilling their obligations to the Generation Companies with regards to payment for the Power supplied by the Gencos. This also affects the GenCos with regards to paying Gas companies. So the problem calls for a change of attitude.
Rights of Customers
The installation of an appropriate meter to accurately determine energy consumption and provide for energy accounting.
Receive refund via energy credits to Customers who elect to make upfront payments from the Disco.
Where a customer has made monthly payments under MSC the cumulative amount paid shall be refunded via energy credits.
The repair or replacement of faulty meters by the Discos within 2 working days at no additional cost to the customer.
But where it is established that the customer willfully damaged a meter, the Disco shall replace the meter based on an upfront payment by the customer or other mutually agreed terms of payment.
Where dispute arise on responsibility for destruction of a meter, the customer shall be entitled to a to fair resolution of the dispute; and the Disco shall replace the meter pending the resolution of the dispute.
The Customer & Disco representative shall jointly note the energy credits remaining on the meters being replaced and the customer shall be credited with the outstanding energy credits on the replacement meter within 48 hours of installation.
Obligations of customers
Grant access to their premises for inspection and installation of meters.
NOTE: Any customer that denies access to his premises for purposes of inspection and installation of a meter shall be disconnected from supply and denied service by the Disco until access is granted to the premises.
Ensure the safety of the meter and not tamper with it; and also ensure that unauthorized persons are not granted access to the meter.
Rights
All meters supplied shall form part of the Distribution Licensee’s Regulated Asset Base (RAB).
Obligations of Discos
Provision of meter deployment plans, with details of customers to be metered.
Timely provision of relevant information to MAPs & LMMA, to enable them fulfil their obligations under the MSA/MPA.
Confirm the readiness of the customer’s premises for metering before installation
Where a customer willingly pays Upfront for meter to MAP and fails to install a meter, the Disco shall ensure a meter is installed within 10 days.
Repair and replacement of faulty meters within 2 working days of receiving the customer’s complaint.
Bill customers strictly on their consumption pattern (last billing cycle) or the existing energy cap whichever is lower on account of the Disco’s failure to repair or replace a meter.
Periodic inspection of meters at customer premises to ensure integrity and reading accuracy.
Refund of payment for the cost of meters via Energy Credit to customers who make/made upfront payments under the MAP framework
Refund customers the cumulative Meter Service Charge (MSC) payments already made to MAPs under the previous MAP regulations
Timely payment for services rendered in accordance with the terms of the MSA with the Disco.
Access to customer premises to carry out its operations with respect metering.
Install meters & metering accessories in compliance with the Disco’s specifications, industry standards and codes for meter installation.
Install meters at customer premises within 10 days of being notified of payment and the Disco’s confirmation that the premises is ready for metering.
Way Forward
The way forward for Communities and organisations to get adequate power supply is turning a new life. Nigerians should be patriotic. Everybody should pay for the power consumed as nothing is free in Freetown. There is no Father Christmas anywhere, Nigerians should learn to pay for Electricity Supply and the Officials of the Discos should also turn a new life by making do with their legal earnings. Nobody should involve in corrupt practices in the Electricity Value Chain in Nigeria.
Conclusion
If Nigerians, Households, Communities and Organisations are patriotic in payment for electricity supply and the staff of the Electricity Suppliers are patriotic in carrying out their duties, the burden of NERC will be minimised and the task of lighting Nigeria will be achieved in no distant time.
