Electricity: President Buhari Directs Mass Distribution Of Prepaid Meters

According to reports reaching us, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an end to estimated billing, as he recently orders a mass distribution of prepaid meters to Nigerians.

In a statement, NERC disclosed: “In response to media reports that there is an increase in tariffs for Nigerians, NERC wishes to clarify that tariff reviews going forward will only follow service-based principles. Under these service-based principles, DISCOs will only be able to review tariff rates for customers when they consult with customers, commit to increasing the number of hours of supply per day and quality of service.

“In all cases, poor and vulnerable Nigerians will not experience any increase. In line with these expectations, DISCOs are directed to engage with their customers on a Service-Based Tariff structure. Under the Service-Based Tariff Structure, DISCOs can only review tariffs for customers under the following conditions: “Customers are consulted and communicated a guaranteed level of electricity service by the DISCOs based on hours of supply Customers are metered No estimated billing through the strict enforcement of the capping regulation.

This means that unmetered customers will not experience any cost increase beyond what is chargeable to metered customers in the same area.

“Even under the above conditions, there will be no change in tariffs for the most vulnerable as tariffs for those consuming 50KW or less remain frozen. Customers receiving less than 12 hours of supply will also not experience any change in tariffs.

“Also, the President has directed that there should be a nationwide mass-metering program in an effort by the Federal Government to put a stop to estimated and arbitrary billing for electricity.