Oredola Adeola

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has imposed a Two Hundred Million Naira (NGN200,000,000) fine on Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) for improperly applying an approved tariff increase to customers in bands B, C, D, and E, defying the directive that only Band A customers should be subject to the rate hike.

This was contained in a press statement released by the Commission on Friday and seen by Advisors Reports.

According to NERC, the enforcement action was taken against the Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (“AEDC”) for non-compliance with the Supplementary Order to the April 2024 Multi-Year Tariff Order 2024 for AEDC (the “Order”).

It said, “AEDC has been fined ₦200,000,000 (Two Hundred Million Naira) for failure to comply with the prescribed customer band classifications for the tariff billing.

“This decision follows a detailed review and customer feedback, which revealed that AEDC had applied the new tariff to all customer bands, contrary to the Order, which was designed to ensure fair billing practices.”

NERC has therefore mandated AEDC to reimburse all customers in Bands B, C, D and E respectively that were billed above the allowed customer categories/tariff bands provided in the Order.

The Commission said, “The reimbursement of all the customers should be done through the provision of the balance of customer tokens that the affected customers would be entitled to receive at the applicable rates and all token reimbursements shall be issued to the affected customers by 11 April 2024.

“AEDC must file evidence of compliance with the directives in a & c with the Commission by 12 April 2024. The action by the Commission underscores its commitment to protecting consumer rights and ensuring equitable practices within Nigeria’s electricity sector,” the Commission stated in the directive.

While insisting that the AEDC must present evidence of compliance with these corrective measures by April 12, 2024, NERC has vowed to continue to monitor the situation closely.

The management of AEDC had earlier in a statement posted via the organisation’s official X handle on Thursday, apologised to its customers for wrongfully charging them.

The DisCo revealed that the error resulted from a glitch in the reclassification of some Band A customers to a lower band.

It said, “This was due to a system glitch caused by the reclassification of some Band A customers who have now been downgraded to Band B due to the number of hours of electricity supply enjoyed over the past few weeks.

“These erstwhile Band A customers who vended were charged the new tariff of N225 per kilowatt hour,” the statement noted.

AEDC also disclosed in its statement that efforts were being made to identify those affected, adding that some Band A customers were also charged at the old rate rather than N225/kilowatt.

“Once the glitch is resolved, this category of customers will now recharge their metres at the new rate of N225, which will ensure they enjoy a minimum supply of 20 hours daily,” AEDC  stated.