NERC warns DISCOS — It’s your responsibility to replace faulty customers’ electricity metres

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has warned Electricity Distribution Company that it is their responsibility to replace customers’ faulty metres.The Commission disclosed this in a statement on Monday amid a surge in complaints by Disco customers.

Report reaching us on Wednesday that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission warned the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, IKEDC, and the Eko Electricity Distribution Company, EKEDC, against flouting its directives on obsolete metres.

Reacting to the development on Monday, NERC said the DISCO’s directive to customers to apply and pay for faulty metres contravenes its Order No. NERC/246/2021 on the Structured Replacement of Faulty and Obsolete End-Use Customer Metres in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

According to the regulator, “the order clearly states that no customer with a metre should be forcefully migrated to estimated billing.

If any customer’s metre is adjudged by any DisCo to be obsolete or faulty, it is the responsibility of the DisCo to replace the metre free of charge, provided that the fault was not caused by the customer.

“The Commission restates its commitment to protect customers’ interests and rights by ensuring compliance with established regulatory standards and enforcing regulatory penalties for non-compliance by its licensees.

“We urge customers to report cases of non-compliance to the order by any discos,” NERC stated.