As the Distribution Companies (DisCos) implement the capping of estimated electricity bills order this month, many customers have recorded far more outrageous bills, while others say they are relieved.
Our reporter collated series of complaints from consumers in some parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasarawa, Benue, Kaduna, Kano, among other states, on the February bill distributed to consumers in early March.
The complaints are coming just as consumers await the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to approve about 51 per cent hike in electricity tariff by April, 2020.
The capping order 2020 released by NERC shows that as of December, 2019, there were 10 million registered electricity customers, but 5.2 million of these customers; representing 52 per cent, have not been metered and are still under estimated billing. However, 4.8 million other customers have gotten meters installed in their homes.
The lack of meters has put customers at the mercy of the DisCos as scores of customers claim they are often charged “crazy” and exploitative bills amid several outages and monthly energy load rationing.
In 2018 NERC introduced the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) regulation to accelerate metering for the five million consumers.
MAP metering target records from 10 of the DisCos obtained from the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) indicate that they will deploy 5.545 million meters in four years from May, 2019.
NERC noted that, “The significant level of customer dissatisfaction arising from unrealistic estimated bills have also adversely impacted on the market revenues as a consequence of customer apathy and declining willingness to settle their invoices in full.”
How estimated bill cap order works
To cushion an escalation in the estimated billing methodology with a looming 51 per cent tariff hike, NERC had since February 20, 2020, pegged payment for electricity bills by customers who are under the estimated billing methodology. The capping order stipulates the maximum amount a DisCo can charge customers in specific locations.
As the implementation of the new tariff regime sets in, only high energy consumers are free from estimated billing if they are not metered by April ending. The Residential 2 (R2) and Commercial 1 (C1) customers whose bills have been capped will have to bear the brunt until they are metered through MAP by 2021 or 2022.
NERC said DisCos must meter all higher energy consuming customers (MD) by April 30, 2020, and would not be disconnected as they were not liable to pay estimated bill again. However, the unmetered R2 and C1 customers must not be billed more than a template NERC has approved for each DisCo.
Mustapha Segun, a resident of Lugbe, a suburb of the FCT, said they were expecting their bill to be less than N2,000, but were surprised that the house got about N9,000.
Segun said, “We used to pay about N7,500 every month, but the bill has increased for us. We don’t understand how this order works.”
The cap template, however, shows that customers in Lugbe area should only pay N4,600 per month with inclusion of Value Added Tax (VAT).
At Kpana Village in Jabi area of the FCT, shop owners said their bills rose to N11,000.
A customer in Jabi, Madam Blessing Michael, said, “I used to get around N5,000, but we got N11,350 this month, and we were expecting to hear that our bill would crash to N1,800.”
A quick check on the NERC approved template for Abuja DisCo shows that C1 customers in Jabi should only pay N10,370 with VAT.
Contrary to the sharp rise in the bill, some customers said their bills dropped. In Ugbokolo town of Benue State, a residential customer, Mrs. Ugwu Maria, said her bill dropped from N4,500 to N2,950. A template verification of this shows that Ugbokolo, which is under Otukpo Region of Jos DisCo, has N2,800 as the highest bill rate.
In Mararaba, Nasarawa State, Okpotu Johnson said, “This capping has worked in our area where we don’t often have constant power supply. I was amazed that the bill dropped to N2,700 recently.”
A template check indicates that the residential customers should not have paid more than N2,500 with VAT.
Malam Garba Isa who lives in Barnawa Low Cost in Kaduna said his bill was slightly above N2,000, but that he ought to pay N1,582, excluding VAT, and added that, “At this level, I was even surprised because it used to soar to N5,000.”
In Tudun Wada Quarters of Kano, Musa Shehu said his compound got N3,500 bill, reducing from N4,800 they had been billed in the past. However, the Kano DisCo template shows that the bill for that area has been capped to N2,205, excluding 7.5 per cent VAT.
What customers will pay
The NERC order template check shows what residential customers should pay across major cities in Nigeria, exclusive of the prevailing 7.5 VAT rate.
AEDC customers in Gwarinpa, Wuse, Maitama and Kubwa in Abuja cannot pay estimated bill above N8,845, N9,841, N10,497, N2,770 respectively. AEDC customers in Keffi and Lafia in Nasarawa State can only pay N2,502 and N2,284 respectively.
Under Ikeja DisCo in Lagos State, customers living in Ikeja, Ikorodu and Oshodi will not pay above the cap of N4,409, N2,385 and N3,045 respectively.
R2S customers of Kaduna DisCo in Barnawa, Zaria, Birnin Kebbi and Sokoto will not pay above N1,582, N1,714, N1,582 and N1,582, respectively.
R2S customers of Enugu DisCo in Aba, Nsukka, Owerri and Nnewi can only pay N2,783, N2,288, N2,998 and N2,567 respectively.
We have complied with NERC order – DisCos
When contacted on the discrepancy in billing, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) said it had complied with the estimated billing order of NERC.
The General Manager, Corporate Communications of AEDC, Mr. Oyebode Fadipe, said the capping of estimated bill was an order by NERC that AEDC was obeying.
“The capping is a NERC order. It is an order we are bound to obey. As for the one that you allege is above the NERC cap, I need to see it,” Fadipe said regarding customers’ bills above the N10,370 cap limit for Jabi in the FCT.
The spokesman of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), Ibrahim Sani Shawai, said the DisCo had sensitised 104 communities in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa on issues in the power sector. Among these are the NERC capping of estimated billing and the new tariff.
