Nigeria: Stop Behaving As If You Are Doing Customers A Favour — NERC Commissioner Tells DisCos

Nigeria’s Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has issued a strong rebuke to power distribution companies (DisCos), criticising them for providing poor services to Nigerians.

Mr. Nathan Shatti, Commissioner for Corporate Services, expressed disbelief over the conduct of some DisCos, accusing them of taking customers for granted despite being paid for their services.

Speaking during the 4th NESI Stakeholders Meeting in Abuja, Commissioner Shatti highlighted the poor performance of some utilities regarding Meter Asset Provider (MAP) refunds and installations, singling out Abuja and Kano DisCos for achieving only 2% compliance on refunds.

Addressing the backlog of paid-for but uninstalled meters, he rejected the technical excuses provided by the companies and warned them against collecting customer funds when they cannot deliver the service.

“If your network is not ready for metering, do not collect people’s money,” he cautioned.

He further noted that for every transformer or meter left uninstalled, DisCos incur financial losses, stressing that it is in their own interest to install meters and fix transformer-related issues promptly.

Shatti also revealed that more than 350,000 meters have yet to be migrated to the new STS standard and demanded an immediate cleanup of obsolete data.

With the transition to State Electricity Regulatory Commissions underway, NERC Vice Chairman, Dr. Musiliu Oseni, issued an additional warning to DisCos regarding their cooperation with the new state regulators, emphasising that “No licensee is bigger than their regulator.”

Dr. Oseni further disclosed that between 600,000 and 700,000 meters are currently available in the country. He urged utilities to improve publicity and accelerate their rollout, noting that the government has already made the necessary investments.

He also proposed a direct enforcement mechanism using the wholesale market structure:

“You still have your Operational Expenditure (OPEX) at the national wholesale market level. If you refuse to refund customers, that money can be withheld from your OPEX until you have done so.”

He insisted that strict timelines be issued immediately to ensure full compliance.

Dafe Akpeneye, NERC Commissioner for Legal, Licensing and Compliance, dismissed the excuse from DisCos that they cannot locate thousands of meters because customers allegedly moved them without authorisation.

Drawing a parallel with the banking sector, he argued that just as a “Post No Debit” order forces a bank customer to visit a branch, DisCos must use their vending platforms to enforce compliance.

“If you don’t know where the meter is, the customer shouldn’t be able to vend,” he said.

His directive was explicit: “Issue a public notice that you cannot identify these meters. Block them from vending and take them off your system until the people concerned come forward.”