As the outcry from electricity consumers over ‘crazy’ bills continues to rage almost five years after the privatisation of the power sector, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission is considering putting limits on estimated billing.
NERC noted that the issue of estimated billing had continued to constitute a major source of complaint by customers of all the electricity distribution companies. It said this had led to calls by stakeholders, such as the National Assembly and other consumer groups, for the commission to find a more equitable way of ensuring that customers were billed fairly.
In the ‘Consultation Paper on the Capping of Estimated Billing’ released on Friday, the regulator described the Methodology for Estimated Billing introduced in 2012 as “a complete failure.”
It said the purpose of the consultation paper is to solicit comments from stakeholders on the setting aside of the existing estimated billing methodology and explore various options provided in the document to cap the monthly estimated bills issued to customers in line with the previous charge(s) applicable to the different tariff classes.
