- By Halimah Olamide
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Friday announced a fine of N200m against the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company over alleged violation of the new tariff plans.
NERC said apart from the N200m fine, the company must refund customers who were wrongly billed and show evidence of compliance on or before April 12, this year.
NERC said it needed to enforce the order against the Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc for its failure to comply with the Supplementary Order to the April 2024 Multi-Year Tariff Order 2024 for AEDC (the “Order”). “AEDC has been fined ₦200,000,000 (Two Hundred Million Naira) for failure to comply with the prescribed customer band classifications for the tariff billing.
“This decision follows a detailed review and customer feedback, which revealed that AEDC had applied the new tariff to all customer bands, contrary to the Order, which was designed to ensure fair billing practices,” a statement made available on Friday said
It added that AEDC is mandated to reimburse all customers in Bands B, C, D and E respectively that were billed above the allowed customer categories/tariff bands provided in the Order.
It must also reimburse through the provision of the balance of customer tokens that the affected customers would be entitled to receive at the applicable rates and all token reimbursements shall be issued to the affected customers by 11 April 2024.
The company must also pay the sum of ₦200,000,000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira) as a fine for the flagrant breach of the Commission’s Order and thereafter, file evidence of compliance with the directives in a & c with the Commission by 12 April 2024.
It concluded, “The action by the Commission underscores its commitment to protecting consumer rights and ensuring equitable practices within Nigeria’s electricity sector.” NPO Reports that many consumers reported outrageous billings over and above what is prescribed for their bands. The NERC two days ago effected a new tariff regime.