Govt appeals to labour, new electricity tariff begins tomorrow
A PANEL set up by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has uncovered huge anomalies in the management of N2.9 billion approved as subsidy for the supply of prepaid meters to electricity consumers in the country.
The amount, which was approved for disbursement under the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO 1) was released as subsidy to the distribution companies (DISCOs) to make meters available for customers.
Besides, despite the outcry in some quarters against the new electricity tariff, NERC yesterday appealed to the organised labour and Nigerians to support government to transform the electricity sector by embracing the new tariff regime. NERC has also abolished revenue target setting by distribution companies, warning that PHCN marketers would no longer be required to task consumers beyond what the new law says.
Inundated with reports of the non-availability of the meters to the majority of electricity consumers in the country, the NERC had last December set up a committee on public inquiry into the nation’s electricity supply industry. The report, which was submitted to the management of the commission in Abuja yesterday, was damning.
The committee found that as against what the public was told, the DISCOs had meters in stock but failed in most cases, to supply and install them accordingly. It therefore, recommended, among others, that government should encourage local production of meters to enhance availability.
The report gave the total number of customers captured in the records of operators of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry at 5.1 million (18.65 per cent of Nigeria’s total households), excluding those illegally enjoying electricity and not registered by the distribution companies. Out of the number of customers registered, 2.9 were metered while about 2.4 were unmetered.
The committee also urged government to provide an intervention fund of N50 billion to close the metering gap.
A copy of the report obtained by The Guardian read: “ It was further established that the CEOs were responsible for the inefficiency that permeates the system. For instance, the monies for meters are paid through draft by customers to the CEOs and there is no feedback as to whether they get the meter or not and how long the customer stays before getting a meter.
“It was discovered that in most of the DISCOs, even though meters were in stock, customers existed who had paid for years and were not supplied any. This was confirmed when some customers immediately presented receipts of payment upon the declaration of some CEOs of their readiness to meter within a week, those customers with evidence of payment. With this revelation, it shows that meters are not scarce as the CEOs widely alleged.”
Presenting the report, Chairman of the committee, and human rights activist, Bamidele Aturu, was emphatic as he declared that the distribution companies had not properly accounted for the funds.
He said: “Sharp practices and inefficiencies are the hallmarks of the metering system: from ageing power plants and terrible transmission lines to more importantly, rampant corruption and poor collection rates. In virtually all the six zones visited, we received complaints ranging from outright refusal to meter customers, estimated billing following refusal to read installed non-prepaid meters, culture of impunity of PHCN staff, connivance of some unscrupulous PHCN staff with private individuals to defraud the general public, allegations of connivance of PHCN staff and the public to bypass meters, demand for money for preferential treatment in various forms, unreceipted additional payments were made for supply of meters. These allegations were sufficiently supported by documentary evidence.
“The committee was informed that due to persistent clamour for funds by DISCOs for the purpose of procuring meters, the sum of N2.9 billion in MYTO 1 was released as subsidy to the DISCOs to make meters available for customers. Although the committee was informed that CEOS of the DISCOs are yet to fully account for the funds, we found that their customers remained largely unmetered. There are also evidence of some DISCOs refusing customers’ prepayments for meters especially prepayment meters.”
From Lagos, Enugu, Yola, Kaduna, Makurdi, to Abuja distribution companies, the story was the same. The DISCOs allegedly also deliberately refused to obtain correct meter readings, resulting in estimated billing.
The committee, therefore, urged NERC to intensify its monitoring and enforcement apparatus to ensure proper implementation of existing regulations on metering, billing and cash collection as well as overall improvement in customer service. This, according to the committee, would eliminate the culture of impunity prevailing in the electricity sector.
The Chairman of NERC, Sam Amadi, stressed that the report of the committee did not necessarily translate to embezzlement of the meter subsidy funds by the DISCOs.
He assured that there was enough funding provision in MYTO 2 to meter all consumers correctly within the next two years.
Source - guardian
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