How Consumers Lamented As Electricity Meter Prices Rise

 The cost of a single-phase electricity meter has risen to over N130,000 from N88,000 in the first quarter of this year.

This is the second time the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission would approve an increase in the prices of prepaid meters.

Sunday PUNCH gathered that the price of a single-phase meter ranged from N130,000 to N139,000, while a three-phase meter was sold between N219,000 and N229,000, depending on the vendor.

This is just as some consumers who have yet to be metered continued to lament high estimated billing from their Electricity Distribution Companies.

The consumers on direct connection lamented that they receive estimated billings every month, stating that the amount being charged by DisCos is not usually commensurable to the units of energy they used.

A single-phase smart meter was sold at N106,802.69 while the three-phase smart meter rose from N154,600 in May this year to goes for N210,751.61.

According to some of the electricity distribution companies who spoke to our correspondent, DisCos no longer have control over meter sales, stating that the customers deal directly with the meter asset provider, who is mandated to supply the meter within 10 working days after payment.

The Chief Executive Officer of Femadec Group, Fola Akinola, recently said meter application portals were shut in April because the vendors and the DisCos were regularising prices to reflect the current economic realities.

“In a situation where you fixed the price of meters when $1 was around N500, and now that $1 is over N1,300, you cannot sell the ones you have because you will not be able to replace them. People cannot bring in meters because of the exchange rate,” he stated.

Consumers kick

In an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, the Executive Director of the Electricity Consumers Protection and Advocacy Centre, Princewill Okorie, wondered why NERC would approve another meter price increase at a time the consumers are still struggling with the Band A tariff hike.

According to Okorie, Discos, aided by NERC, have been extorting Nigerians by failing to abide by the MAP policy which stipulated that consumers should get energy credit as a refund for meters paid for.

“The MAP scheme policy says that if a consumer pays for a meter, he should get a refund through energy credit. How many consumers have been paid back?

“Why will this sector be only about collecting money from the consumers without service delivery, transparency and accountability? This is because nobody punishes or monitors the Discos. It still boils down to the consumer aspect of the sector not being taken seriously.

The consumer rights activist disclosed that during the 2022 tariff hike, NERC had approved for DisCos that for every bill a consumer pays, a certain percentage should be for the Meter Acquisition Fund.

In June this year, the Federal Government approved N21bn under the Presidential Metering Initiative to provide meters to unmetered customers at no cost.

Consumers are asking how the N21bn Mater Acquisition Funds allocated to the DisCos were spent.

NERC spokesman, Usman Arabi, could not be reached at the time of filing this report.

An official of the commission who spoke on anonymity told our correspondent that customers are not to pay for meters under this initiative

Asked if this would not amount to discriminating against those who have been paying for meters for all these years, the NERC official retorted, “Those people are supposed to be refunded by the DisCos through energy credit and the commission is following up on the compliance.”

How Consumers Lamented As Electricity Meter Prices Rise

Another source told our correspondent that the MAF meters are for Band A customers only.

“The Phase 1 MAF meters will be given to Band A customers for free. It will eventually go round to other customer classes”, said the source.

However, our correspondent observed that the metering gap is still as high as seven million of the 13 million electricity customers.

The Executive Director of Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, told our correspondent that the meter policy has changed, saying DisCos no longer have control over meter sales.

Again! DisCos receive NERC approval to increase tariff September 1st, EKEDP disowns increase notice | AgegePulse Magazine

By Ayodele Ifasakin

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has ordered the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to increase their tariffs beginning September 1, 2021.

The commission in a letter titled ‘Tariff Increase Notification’ gave the energy distributors the leverage to charge a service based tariff.

However, Eko Electricity Distribution Plc has denied giving out information regarding hiking its tariff.

“Our attention has been brought to rumors making the rounds in the media from unconfirmed sources of a proposed adjustment in power tariffs,” the organization said in a statement signed by the MD, Engr. Adeoye Fadeyibi FNSE.

"Eko Electricity Distribution Plc would like to advise the general public to avoid any such reports that do not come from the company's management or its website, www.ekedp.com.

“While we continue to review effective and regulatory strategies to manage the impact of changes to macro-economic indices affecting end-user tariffs, the general public will be duly informed, in the event of any changes to the end-user tariff. We advise all customers to disregard all communications that have not been issued by management or published on the company’s website www.ekedp.com. Please kindly contact our 24/7 customer care line on 07080655555, OR customercare@ekedp.com for further information for enquiries and a prompt resolution of any further queries or complaints.”

Meanwhile, the Association of Nigerian Power Distributors (ANED) has denied accusations that Distribution Companies (DisCos) pressured the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to halt electricity trading under the Eligible Customer Regulation (ECR) 2017.

ANED Executive Director, Research & Advocacy, Sunday Oduntan, made this known in a rejoinder yesterday.

He said: “Whilst the concerns of the author and the stakeholders behind the publication are misplaced and unfounded, we found it compelling to set the records straight on the issues brought forward in the said publication.”

The DisCos also said they recognize the relevant provisions of the ESPRA 2005 and the ECR as well as their objectives, noting that there has been improvement in DisCos’ performance with more collaborations to increase efficiencies of the DisCos and indeed the entire value chain to achieve clean, safe and uninterrupted power supply to Nigerians

The DisCos also stated that they are aware of the relevant provisions of the ESPRA 2005 and the ECR, as well as their objectives, noting that their performance has improved with more collaborations to increase efficiencies of the DisCos and indeed the entire value chain in order to provide Nigerians with clean, safe, and uninterrupted power.

TVCNews

Discos now selling FG’s free meters, consumers allege | AgegePulse Magazine

 

Power consumers have raised the alarm that power distribution companies were now selling the free meters that were provided for electricity users by the Federal Government.

In October 2020, the Federal Government inaugurated the National Mass Metering Programme in respect of which the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a framework for financing the scheme.

Prepaid meter

The programme was inaugurated to increase the country’s metering rate and eliminate arbitrary estimated bills that were given unmetered customers by Discos.

Through the scheme, the CBN provided financing support to the Discos for the procurement of meters for customers from local meter manufacturers.

The meters were meant to be installed free of charge in the residence of beneficiaries, but power users on Friday alleged that some Discos were beginning to collect money for the meters.

They told our correspondent that some Discos claimed that the scheme was being run alongside the Meter Asset Providers programme, but argued that the MAPs had not been successful, which was why the government introduced the NMMP.

Speaking on studies done by his group as regards the installation of meters under the NMMP, the National Secretary, Nigeria Electricity Consumer Advocacy Network, Uket Obonga, said Discos were selling meters that were meant to be free.

He said, “Look at the National Mass Metering Programme that the government inaugurated recently to ensure mass metering, some Discos are now selling the prepaid meters that were given to them free of charge for customers,

“I held a programme in Calabar and put a call directly to one of the commissioners there to tell him what’s happening. The next day Port Harcourt Disco invited me to go with them for meter launch and so forth.”

An official with the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, the umbrella body for Discos, Akin Akinpelu, confirmed this to our correspondent in Abuja.

Also, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission said it would not delve into the matter unless the affected customers tabled it as a complain to the NERC.

The Head, Public Affairs, NERC, Michael Faloseyi, said the matter was purely between Discos and consumers, but made it clear that once a complaint, was made in that regard, the commission would step in.

Punch

Reps revisit bill to criminalise estimated billing

AgegePulse Magazine

The House of Representatives has revisited the bill seeking to criminalise estimated billing of electricity consumers by Distribution Companies.

When the proposed law is passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President, it will become criminal for service providers to issue estimated billing, also known as ‘crazy bill.’

Its issuance would attract either a one-year jail term or a fine of N1m or both.


The proposed law would also compel a Distribution Company to provide pre-paid meter to an applicant within 30 days.

It would also bar the DISCOs from disconnecting the consumer after the 30-day period within which meters should be installed.

The Electric Power Sector Reform Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, which the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, then as Majority Leader, presented in the 8th  National Assembly, was re-presented in July 2019.

Our correspondent obtained a copy of the proposed legislation on Thursday.


The bill is entitled, ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electric Power Sector Reforms Act to Prohibit and Criminalise Estimated Billing by Electric Distribution Companies and Provide for Compulsory Installation of Pre-Paid Meters to All Power Consumers in Nigeria and Other Related Matters.’

The bill had reached the committee stage and a public hearing conducted on it before the last National Assembly wound down in May, 2019.

Punch

Electricity: Senate supports reforms, re-capitalisation of DisCos

AgegePulse Magazine

 The Senate says it wants a robust power sector road map that will include the generation, transmission and distribution segments in a holistic picture on how to resolve power supply challenges.

The Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Usman Gur Mohammed, who disclosed this at a quarterly press conference in Abuja, said that was aimed at further expanding and stabilizing the grid.

A statement by TCN said the Senate also declared its support for the proposal to recapitalise the Distribution Companies (DisCos). It advised that the 40 per cent holding of the Federal Government as stipulated in the Power Privatisation Act 2005 might be more beneficial if it was sold to foreign investors with technical know-how.

DailyTrust

Obasa, Lagos Assembly urge FG to allow states to generate electricity

AgegePulse Magazine

Lagos State House of Assembly has urged the Federal Government to allow states or local governments that can generate electricity to do so.

Obasa made this known during the plenary session held on Tuesday.

The Speaker explained that concentrating electricity generation in the hands of the Federal Government, when there are no resources to do so is wrong.

He then ordered the Clerk of the House, Mr Azeez Sanni to write the National Assembly and the Minister of Power, Works and Housing on the resolution of the House on the matter.

Representing Kosofe Constituency 2, Hon. Tunde Braimoh called on the National Assembly to expedite action on the Electricity Power Reform Act 2018 that criminalizes the estimated billing system.

He added that the House should call on the National Assembly to amend the schedule two of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to allow states and local governments to generate electricity.

“The National Assembly should expedite action on the Electricity Reform Act 2018.

“I call on the Minister of Power and the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to call on Eko and Ikeja DISCOs to desist from taking transformers away from consumers over non-payment of bills.


“The Minister and NERC should ensure the distribution of prepaid meters to consumers and the Consumer Protection Agency should ensure that the rights of consumers in Lagos State are protected,” he said.

Speaking also, The representative of Somolu 1, Hon. Rotimi Olowo said that the issues started occurring when the DISCOs took over.

“What is generated cannot be transmitted because we don’t have the facilities for transmission.

“We should call on the Minister of Power to make a critical analysis of these companies.


“The DISCOs don’t have the financial muscle to provide power for the people.


 We need to overhaul the electric service providers since they don’t have enough financial requirement, and their monopoly gesture has made life unbearable for our people,” he said.

Tribune

Power: Benin Republic, Niger pay Nigeria $10m after disconnection threat

The Republics of Benin and Niger have paid $10.1m as electricity bill to Nigeria to avert being disconnected from their power source in Nigeria after the Federal Government threatened to disconnect debtors.

It was also learnt that the countries made the payment through their respective power firms, with NIGELEC of the Republic of Niger paying $3.79m, while the Community Electric du Benin of the Republic of Benin remitted $6.32m to Nigeria’s electricity market.

On July 11, 2018, The PUNCH reported that President Muhammadu Buhari decided to join operators in the power sector in calling on international customers receiving electricity from Nigeria to either pay their bills or be disconnected.

Nigeria sells power to the Republics of Togo, Niger and Benin, and classifies the West African countries as international customers.

Officials at the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing told our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday that the international customers, paying for the power received from Nigeria in dollars, owed the country, a development that had increased the financial indebtedness to Nigeria’s power generation companies.
To avert being disconnected, it was gathered on Thursday that Benin and Niger made some payments and that the payment by both countries was disclosed to operators in Nigeria’s electricity industry at the August 2018 power sector stakeholders’ meeting by the Market Operator, an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

This was also confirmed in a report that was presented to stakeholders at the meeting by the MO, which was obtained by our correspondent from the FMPWH.
On its dashboard on the summary of energy delivery in the month of June 2018, the MO stated that energy delivered to international customers and Ajaokuta Steel was 229,487.29 megawatts/hour.

Under bilateral trading, it stated that the quantum of energy sent out by power generation companies was 104,861.92MWh, while energy delivered to bilateral customers was 95,939.31MWh.

Figures on the dashboard showed that indigenous power distribution companies, as always, got the highest quantum of energy, 2,355,623.4MWh, from the Gencos in the month under review.

The MO further stated that part of the foreign exchange inflows from international customers had been disbursed to service providers in Nigeria’s power sector.

The indebtedness of international customers was also confirmed by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, in July, who, however, revealed that Buhari was working hard to ensure that the electricity debts by the country’s neighbours were cleared.

Fashola had also directed the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company to go ahead and collect its money from the international customers.

He said, “We issued disconnection notices and that is why I’m asking the NBET to go and collect your money because we have duties, obligations and international agreements with them as brother and sister nations.
“But that does not mean they will not pay us if they are defaulting. So, we have issued letters to them to pay their bills, and from time to time, they pay.

“There was a time one head of state came to visit President Buhari and little did I know that the real reason he came was to come and tell him that the (power) sector had issued a notice of disconnection to his country. And you may be interested to know that President Buhari simply told him to go and pay, otherwise we will disconnect you because we are also paying at home.”

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