NERC fines IBEDC N21m for poor consumer handling

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has sanctioned more distribution companies over poor consumers handling. The latest, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) was fined N21 million.

Acting Chairman of NERC, Dr. Anthony Akah, said yesterday that the sanctions were imposed after the company failed to give satisfactory explanations for some of its actions.

In a statement in Abuja, NERC said Ibadan Disco refused to obey decisions of the Commission Forum Office or treat electricity customer complaints referred to it by the Commission.

Akah assured that NERC had intensified efforts at setting up more Forum Offices within the last eight months to handle unresolved electricity complaints from the customer care units of the DISCOs.

Electricity customers were therefore advised to explore the Commission’s redress mechanism as well as appeal to the Commission if they are not satisfied with the Forum decision instead of taking laws into their hands or embarking on avoidable and expensive litigations.

Akah also warned DISCOs to obey decisions of the Forum or appeal to the Commission where they disagree. The directive announcing the sanction read; “Following the failure of IBEDC to comply with the request and directive, the Commission issued a Notice to Commence Enforcement to IBEDC, on June 9, 2016 to show cause within ten days, why enforcement action should not be taken against it on four grounds of misdemeanour.”

IBEDC was said to have been found culpable “by not complying with most of the NERC Forum decisions in respect of installations of electricity transformers and energising communities; claimed unavailability of funds, capital intensive nature of such projects as some of the reasons for non-compliance.”

IBEDC also “failed to comply with the timeline within which to implement the directives of the NERC Forum as well as the reporting compliance obligation as stipulated in the CCHSP Regulation 2006.”

All sanctions will start counting from February 23, 2015 when the first directive was given by the NERC Forum Office till August 5, 2016 when the Commission’s directives 156 was signed by Akah and General Manager, Legal, Licensing and Enforcement, Mrs. Olufunke Dinneh.