Abuja — Over 300 customers of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, submitted complaints at a townhall and complaints resolution meeting organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, for customers of the company in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The complaints were handled on the spot by a team of AEDC officials with NERC officers monitor the process.
Speaking at the meeting, NERC’s Commissioner, Consumer Affairs, Mrs. Aisha Mahmud, said the townhall and complaints resolution meeting was part of efforts by the regulatory agency at educating electricity consumers and customers of electricity distribution companies about their rights to quality services and their corresponding obligations.
Mahmud, who said the commission also monitors customer’s complaints for peaceful resolution, explained that NERC issued the Customer Protection Regulations, which sets the minimum standards that Distribution Companies are expected to attain in protecting customers.
She said: “One of the main reasons we are here is to educate you on what you should know about the electricity industry.
“As consumers, you should know that when you pay for electricity, you are not just paying for electricity, but rather, you’re paying for services as well. So, you should always insist you know what services you are being given and what your rights and obligations are.”
Among the AEDC customers whose complaints were attended to was Alhaji Abubakar Akowe, who submitted a complaint on behalf of Jama’atul Nasril Islam on their application for a prepaid meter since April 2023.
“In the NERC evaluation form, I commended NERC for helping to resolve this issue because I have been assured that a meter has been assigned and will be installed today,” he said.
Another customer, Honourable Ocheni Matthew, a landlord, said he had filed a complaint to AEDC since 2022 about a meter bypass in his property which he was told to pay a N500,000 fine.
AEDC Chief Business Officer, Kogi Zone, Mr. Olaseni Agunpopo, assured to personally monitoring the complaint resolution process in the state to ensure improvement in customer engagement and service delivery.
NERC Assistant General Manager, Consumer Affairs, Mrs. Regina Osuagwu, coordinated an interactive session that provided the avenue to respond to critical observations from the participants.
Osuagwu assured that the NERC Lokoja Forum Office was active where customers who are not satisfied with complaints resolved by AEDC can escalate them and have the forum members hear the appeals.
