YOUR RIGHTS AS AN ELECTRICITY CONSUMER

INTRODUCTION
In time past, Electricity consumers; You and I, had no idea of what our rights entailed as regards Electricity Consumption. I wouldn't say our ignorance was our fault, rather it is reasonable to cast the blame on the Agencies responsible for the generation and distribution of Electricity in Nigeria. Everything regarding electricity was shrouded in secrecy with the exception of consumers' arbitrarily high electricity bills.

However, in fulfilment of the obligation conferred by Section 70 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the body empowered to meet the yearnings of Nigerians for stable, adequate and safe electricity supply, has made commendable efforts in creating awareness on the rights of every electricity consumer, under the leadership of Dr.Anthony Akah, mni.

YOUR RIGHTS

1. All new electricity connections must be done strictly on the basis of metering before connection. That is, no new customer should be connected without  meter first being installed. If you insist on electricity connection without metering first installed, you are indirectly paving way for arbitrary billing. However, you reserve the right to dispute electricity bills issued to you.                                            
2. If you choose to procure a meter under the Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI) (what we know as Prepaid Meter) Scheme, You must be metered within 60 days of your request, after which you will neither be billed nor disconnected by the electricity distribution company.  In other words, if the electricity distribution company fails to meter you within 60 days of your request, the company is precluded from disconnecting your electricity supply or billing you for electricity consumed within that period.      
   
                                                    
3. You have a right to transparent electricity billing. Unmetered customers should be issued with electricity bills strictly based on NERC’s estimated billing methodology. You can always get a copy of the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) 2015 from http://www.nercng.org/. However, The MYTO 2015 was reversed by the judgment of the Federal High Court of Lagos State in the case of TOLUWANI ADEBIYI V. NIGERIAN ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION, which is currently on appeal.                                                     
4. It is your right to be notified in writing ahead of disconnection of electricity service by the electricity distribution company serving you in line with NERC’s guidelines.                                                  
5. It is your right to prompt investigation of complaints arising from your electricity service disruption .                                                                        
6. It is not your community's, nor your responsibility to buy, replace or repair electricity transformers, poles and related equipment used in supply of electricity. Recently, an electricity pole on my street lost its standing balance thus slightly tilting to the road, we placed a call to the relevant branch office of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company to inform them of the pole. To our dismay, the person who picked the call told us to pay the sum of N25,000.00 for pole replacement. Of course we thanked him and hung up. I quickly placed a call to NERC office to report the situation, apart from the fact that the person who received the call was nice and concerned, he gave me instructions to write a complaint letter which would be submitted to BEDC and copied to NERC, he took my street address details and promised to work on it, whilst reaffirming that it was not our duty to pay or provide for poles. Would sure tell the story when the work pulls through (this is the first day of the report though).                                                                 
   
   
7. It is your right to contest any electricity bill. Any unmetered customer who is disputing his or her estimated bill has the right not to pay the disputed bill, but pay only the last undisputed bill as the contested bill go through the dispute resolution process of NERC. 

All complaints on your electricity supply and other billing issues are to be sent to your nearest business unit of the electricity company serving your premises. If your complaint is not satisfactorily addressed, you can forward your complaint to the NERC Forum Office within the coverage area of your electricity distribution company. Customers also have the right to appeal the decision of the forum at the NERC headquarters in Abuja.

Always remember that you have an obligation to pay your electricity bills. Avoid meter by-pass or stealing of electricity and protect power infrastructure from being vandalized. 

NERC ZONAL OFFICES CONTACT DETAILS:

• 08164201445 - Joseph John - southwest;
• 08130363581- Tony Ray Ene - South South;
• 08062219714 - Ekeh Samuel Chukwuemeka - Southeast; 
• 07061117416 - Hassan GWANDUNorthrth west;
• 07061097132 - Mohammed Umar Fufore - North East; 
• 07036948408 - Friday Sule - North Central.
• www.nercng.org

Don't let yourself get cheated of your electricity rights!