NERC sanctions Abuja Disco for overbilling customers

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has ordered that refunds be made to overbilled customers of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

This follows earlier Notice of Enforcement and subsequent investigation of instances of overbilling perpetrated by the electricity distribution com- pany.

In an order number NERC/139, the commission directed that “AEDC shall with immediate effect from the date of this order commence refund through energy credit of all excess charges billed its customers as a direct consequence of the adjustments”in estimated methodology in some of the company’s business units.

The commission further ordered AEDC to within five days notify the affected customers in writing in line with regulation 9 (7) of NERC’s Meter Reading, Billing, Cash Collections and Credit Management for Electricity Suppliers (2007).

AEDC is also expected to publish in a newspaper with wide circulation within its franchise area an apology to affected customers, stating their business units and the amount of excess charges billed them during the period under review.

The electricity distribution company is expected to report back within two months, beginning from June 15, 2015, to the commission over its compliance with the sanctions meted on it.

It would be recalled that the commission on Thursday, April 16, 2015, issued on AEDC a notice of en- forcement action over what it described as ‘manifest and flagrant breaches’ of approved methodology for estimated billing of electricity consumers.

The company was given seven days to explain why enforcement action should not be taken against it for non-compliance with the terms and conditions of its licence, or the methodology for estimated billing (2012) and was directed to submit a comprehensive data used for the billing of unmetered customers for the period under review.

AEDC was investigated for arbitrary imposition of random figures on clusters of its customers ranging from 18 percent to 28 percent between October and December 2014, and in some cases 1,100 percent increase, which resulted in spike in customers’ bills as against the provisions of the methodology for estimated billing regulations (2012).

The electricity distribution company was said to have tripled its customers bills issued in September 2014, and issued it as bills for October 2014 without evi- dence of a commensurate increase in electricity supply within the same period.

AEDC also allegedly failed to forward reports of the estimated billings it issued in every billing circle as provided under Section 9 of the Methodol- ogy for Estimated Billing Regulation (2012) and in the format prescribed by the regulation.

YANGE IKYAA, Abuja