Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (Ibadan DisCo) continues to lead in customer dissatisfaction, according to reports for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023.
According to the latest industry report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the DisCos cumulatively received 310,717 complaints from consumers in the period, down from the 333,947 complaints received in the third quarter of 2023.
The report read: “Ibadan DisCo received the highest number of complaints with 54,218 cases, representing 17.45 percent of total complaints received. APLE received the least number of complaints (2,110) representing 0.68 percent of total complaints received.
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“APLE and Enugu DisCos recorded increases in the number of customer complaints received in 2023/Q4 compared to 2023/Q3. Conversely, the remaining 10 DisCos recorded decreases in the number of customer complaints received with significant decreases recorded by Benin, Yola and Ikeja.”
The Commission further revealed that metering, billing, and service interruption were the prevalent issues of customer complaints, accounting for more than 78 percent of the total complaints during the quarter.
“The most common issues among the 310,717 complaints received by DisCos in the fourth quarter of 2023 were metering, accounting for 57.13 percent, billing (13.80 percent), and service interruption (9.90 percent).
“These three complaints categories cumulatively accounted for over 78 percent of the total complaints in the quarter,” the Commission said.
total of 111,225 meters were installed, representing a decrease of 38,520 installations compared to the 149,745 meters installed in the third quarter of 2023 while ₦399.69 billion was billed to customers during the period, leading to a joint 70 percent complaints.
Meanwhile, the Commission said it continues to monitor complaint handling and resolution processes adopted by DisCos in furtherance of its mandate as contained in the Electricity Act 2023 which states that “the Commission shall develop in consultation with licensees, the customer complaints handling standard and procedure”,
“DisCos submit monthly customer complaints reports which the Commission reviews to identify cases where regulatory intervention is necessary.
“Furthermore, the customer service standards in the NESI were updated and contained in the Customer Protection Regulations issued by the Commission in March 2023 to conform with international best practices.”
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In addition, NERC revealed that it is implementing the “NESI call centre” which will provide a centralised portal for customers to pass complaints directly to their service providers.
“The call centre will give the Commission near real-time visibility into the filing and resolution of customer complaints by the DisCos which will enhance the monitoring of DisCos’ compliance with customer service standards.
“As reported in 2023/Q3, the Commission also launched its Power Outage Reporting System, a mobile application for electricity customers to report outages in real-time as well as their supply duration which will determine the DisCos’ entitlement to their cost-reflective tariff.
“The Commission will maximise the features of the PORS to strictly monitor DisCos’ compliance with service delivery standards including outage recovery and other key performance indicators,” the report read.
