The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has taken slammed a N200 million fine on the Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (“AEDC”) for indiscriminately placing all consumers in the Band A category, whose tariffs went up by 200 percent in new regulations.
A NERC statement said:
“The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (“Commission”) has taken enforcement action 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”).
“AEDC has been fined N200,000,000 (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.
“Immediate Reimbursement of Customers under Band B to E
“NERC further ordered AEDC to reimburse all customers who were charged the new electricity bill tariff but are not under the Band A category.
“This reimbursement must be done through the provision of the balance of customer tokens that the affected customers would be entitled to receive.
“Furthermore, NERC stipulated that the reimbursement must be completed by no later than 11 April 2024.
“AEDC is therefore mandated 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.
“Reimburse 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.
“The action by the Commission underscores its commitment to protecting consumer rights and ensuring equitable practices within Nigeria’s electricity.”
