DisCos receive 203,116 electricity consumer complaints in Q2, 2020 — NERC
…Says 4.2m electricity consumers metered
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said the 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) received 203,116 consumer complaints in the 2nd quarter of 2020.
The commission disclosed this in its 2020 second quarter report on its website on Wednesday in Abuja.
“During the second quarter of 2020, the 11 DisCos received 203,116 complaints from consumers, indicating 0.68 per cent fewer complaints than those received during the first quarter of 2020.
“In total, the DisCos attended to 189,684 complaints representing an increase of 1.09 per cent from the preceding quarter.
“The report shows that Ibadan, followed by Benin DisCos had the lowest customers’ complaints resolution rates based on the proportion of complaints not addressed in the second quarter of 2020.
“A review of customer complaints statistics indicates that estimated billing, metering and service interruption remain the most significant areas of concerns for customers, accounting for 64.88 per cent.
“It represents 131,789 of the total complaints in the second quarter of 2020,’’ it said.
NERC stated that in the preceding reports, to ensure improved customer service delivery, the commission, on regular basis, continued to monitor and audit customers’ complaint handling and resolution process by DisCos.
It also said that the commission continuously monitored the operation and efficacy of its Forum Offices which were set up to redress on consumers’ complaints not adequately resolved to the customers’ satisfaction by the responsible DisCos.
The commission said that the forum panels reviewed unresolved disputes, as enshrined in its Customer Complaints Handling Standards and Procedure (CCHSP) Regulations.
It said that the forum offices handled a total of 2,815 complaints during 2nd quarter 2020 including the pending complaints from 1st quarter 2020 from customers who were dissatisfied with DisCos’ decision on their lodged complaints.
“Following the restriction of movement imposed by the government to curtail the spread of COVID-19 and subsequent resolutions of the commission suspending forum hearings, the Forum Offices leveraged on technology to communicate customers’ complaints to the respective DisCos for redress.
“With this approach, 53.52 per cent of the total 2,815 complaints before the forum offices were resolved.
“Only one sitting was held during the quarter under review prior to the lockdown.
“The resolution rate indicates that approximately three in every five disputes handled by the forum offices during the quarter under review were resolved,’’ NERC said.
In the meantime, NERC has disclosed that 4,234,759 electricity consumers were metered as of June 2020, out of the 10,516,090 that registered for meters.
The commission announced this figure in its second-quarter report 2020 published on its website on Wednesday in Abuja.
“Although there was a slight improvement during the quarter, the huge metering gap for end-use customers remains a key challenge in the industry.
“The records of the commission indicate that out of the 10,516,090 registered electricity customers as of 30 June 2020, only 4,234,759, which represents 40.27 per cent, have been metered.
“Thus, 59.73 per cent of the registered electricity customers are still on estimated billing.
“This has contributed to customer apathy towards payment for electricity bills,’’ the commission stated.
NERC, however, said that in comparison with the first quarter of 2020, the numbers of registered and metered customers increased slightly by 0.36 per cent and 0.07 per cent respectively.
It said that the increase in registered customers was, in addition to the new connection, “due largely to the on-going customer enumeration exercise by Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) through which unregistered consumers were brought unto their billing platform.
“Similarly, the increase in metered customers was attributed to the roll-out of meters under the Meter Asset Provider scheme (MAP).
“A review of the customer population data indicates that Abuja, Benin and Eko DisCos had metered more than 50 per cent of their registered electricity customers as of 30 June 2020.
“This is to ensure speedy metering of electricity customers in order to meet the target of closing the metering gap in Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry by December 2021.’’
In addition to securing waivers for the levy previously imposed on imported meters, NERC said it had continued monitoring DisCos’ implementation of and compliance with the provisions of the MAP regulations to fast-track meter roll-out.
