The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has issued a directive to electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to reimburse customers who were incorrectly billed at the new rate.
According to a statement released on Saturday, April 6, by Abba Terab, the Deputy General Manager in charge of Market Competition and Rates at NERC, customers are to be refunded through energy tokens by no later than April 11. DisCos are also required to provide evidence of compliance with this directive to the commission by April 12.
The statement outlined specific measures for DisCos to follow:
- DisCos must ensure that only the newly approved Band A feeders listed in their April 2024 supplementary orders are maintained as Band A for vending to prepaid customers and billing for postpaid customers.
- DisCos are mandated to publish on their websites the schedule of approved Band A feeders affected by the rate review.
- DisCos must establish a portal on their websites by April 10, 2024, allowing customers to check their current Bands by entering their meter or account numbers.
- Customers wrongly billed at the new rate should be refunded through energy tokens by Thursday, April 11, 2024, and DisCos must provide evidence of compliance to the Commission by April 12, 2024.
The Commission emphasized its commitment to monitoring compliance with these requirements and pledged continued support to all stakeholders as needed.
