The House of Representatives on Tuesday moved to investigate the Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOS) in Nigeria for alleged overbilling of customers without adequate electricity supply.
It, therefore, resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to look into the allegations of overbilling, illegal tariff increase, and non-compliance to the directives of the Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) by DISCOs with a view to ensuring that consumers rights are protected.
The House resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by Bello Shamsudeen at plenary when the yet to be constituted Ad-hoc Committee was mandated to report back within three weeks for further legislative action.
Moving the motion, Shamsudeen said NERC, on several occasions, ordered
that refunds be made to overbilled customers of DISCOs through energy
the credit of excess charges to the affected individuals and businesses.
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He noted that the Commission further ordered ailing DISCOs to, within
five days notify the affected customers of the overbilling in writing in line with Regulation 9 (7) of the NERC’s Meter reading, billing, cash collection, and credit management for Electricity Suppliers Regulation 2007.
The lawmaker expressed concern that the World Bank, in the latest survey, insisted that 78 percent of power consumers in Nigeria got less than 12 hours of daily supply of electricity which were often times epileptic.
Shamsudeen was worried that the increase in tariff does not reflect the number of hours of power supply, yet Nigerians are forced to pay for the power they did not consume.
