NERC Orders DisCos To Replace Obsolete Meters At No Cost

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has directed electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to replace obsolete meters for their customers at no cost.

The mandate was outlined in a statement released by the regulatory body’s management on Monday.

The directive came after some electricity companies required customers to replace Unistar brand prepaid meters.

Following the directive, Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC) and the Eko Electric Distribution Company (EKEDC) announced that the Unistar prepaid meters which were first deployed over 10 years ago, would no longer be supported from November 14, due to technological upgrades and the token identifier (TID) rollover issue.

NERC emphasised that the cost of meter replacement falls solely on the distribution companies and reiterated that no customer should be subjected to estimated billing.

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“The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission is aware that some Distribution Companies (DisCos) have instructed customers to apply and pay for the replacement of faulty and obsolete meters within their franchise areas.

“This instruction contravenes the Commission’s Order No. NERC/246/2021 on the Structured Replacement of Faulty and Obsolete End-use Customer Meters in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. The Order clearly states that no customer with a meter should be forcefully migrated to estimated billing.

“If any customer’s meter is adjudged by any DisCo to be obsolete or faulty, it is the responsibility of the DisCo to replace the meter free of charge, provided that the fault was not caused by the customer,” NERC said.

The NERC also urged customers to report cases of non-compliance.