The billing process should be measured and transparent

For several years across the nation, there has been a chorus of protests over exploitative billing by the electricity distribution companies (DisCos). Many homes that are barely supplied with power are charged outrageous sums of money, in a billing that is not cost effective. In some cases, the difference in charges can be as high as 100 per cent within a short time, even when there is little or no improvement in power supply. Most of those affected by this exploitation are consumers without pre-paid meters as their billing comes in the form of estimation. Unfortunately, despite repeated promises by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), millions of electricity users are still subjected to estimated billing.

According to the latest factsheet data published by NERC, as of the end of August this year, electricity metering rate rose marginally to 63.1 from 62.4 per cent in the preceding month. Newly metered customers, the report states, declined during the period, falling from 159,980 in July to 141,746 in August. A breakdown of the performance of the DisCos reveals a wide disparity in their metering rates. While Eko, Ikeja and Abuja have metered more than 80 per cent of their active customers, Jos, Yola, Kaduna and Kano remain below 43 per cent. Most people believe that the Discos are deliberate in their fitful supply of meters, even to those who want to buy – which indeed could encourage conservation of energy – because the ‘crazy’ estimation system pays them far more.

As most Nigerians continue to express their frustrations over the rising cases of estimated billing, there seems to be no end to the practice of charging their consumers based on projected usage rather than actual consumption. Meanwhile, NERC had last November warned against an estimated billing regime and the antic of making access to reload energy credits difficult. NERC stated that it had been notified that the DisCos were instructing customers to apply and make payments for the replacement of spoilt and obsolete meters in their franchise areas. Evidently, the DisCos don’t take the NERC seriously on the issue.

When in November 2013 the electricity distribution and power generation companies were handed over to some private operators at an elaborate ceremony, the hope was that daily blackouts and power outages would be reduced to the barest minimum, until they were gradually eased out. But it is now apparent that those hopes were largely misplaced. Today, consumers are paying more and getting less electric power. And now, they are demanding that the process of billing should be measured, transparent and efficient. They are also being ignored.

We understand that the demand for pre-paid metres far exceeds the supply. We also understand the challenges given the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) reports about collection rates, especially in the North. But evidence suggests that the DisCos seem to be in no hurry to provide consumers while playing down the Meter Asset Provider regulation which expects them to address the metering gap on grounds of financial inability.

That millions of power customers in the country are billed for what they do not consume explains why there is agitation against this practice. So pervasive is the situation that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) was once directed by the NERC to refund money to some consumers who were excessively billed. All that consumers are asking for is that the process of billing should be transparent. We hope that the authorities in the NERC will enforce their own regulations on estimated billing to protect power consumers in the country from continued exploitation by the DisCos.