Kunle Kalejaye 18 January 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has harped on the need for electricity distribution companies or Discos to meter maximum demand, MD, electricity customers within their networks on or before February 28.
NERC had in June, 2016 directed the nation’s 11 Discos to conclude metering of all MD customers not later than November 30, 2016.
However, NERC in a public notice granted three months moratorium which expires February 28, 2017 to enable the Discos effectively execute the metering deployment plan, stressing then that failure to comply with the deadline will attract regulatory actions against defaulting Discos beginning from March 1, 2017.
“Any electricity customer on MD category who is yet to be metered as at February 28, 2017 should report to the commission through any of our forum offices,” NERC said.
The commission advised electricity customers who had advanced money to the Discos through the now wound down Credited Advance Payment for Metering Initiatives, CAPMI, to also make use of its complaint redress mechanism.
“The commission is by this notice advising electricity customers not to take laws into their hands by attacking staff of electricity distribution companies. They may wish to be guided not to resort to legal proceedings as the first option in seeking redress, but to explore the Commission’s redress mechanism to save litigation cost and time,” it said.
Sources at the agency told SweetcrudeReports at the weekend that the February 28 deadline still stood and that failure by any Disco to comply with the deadline “will attract regulatory action as earlier stated”.