The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission(NERC) says it is working on ways to monitor the quality of service of power supplied to customers.
Mr Nathan Shatti, the NERC’s Commissioner, Finance and Management Services disclosed this at the commission’s Virtual Town Hall Meeting on Monday night.
The meeting was held with representatives of Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs), Meter Asset Providers and other stakeholders in the power sector.
Shatti said that the commission was also working on ways to check the number of interruptions on power supply and much more, adding that this might take a while but it would be done.
The commissioner reiterated that a customer must be metered within 10 days of payment for a meter.
According to him, failure of the DISCOs to meter a customer after 10 days of payment negates regulation.
“However, customers must ask the DISCOs for availability of meters before making payment,” he said.
Shatti said that NERC was working seriously to ensure that the issue of estimated billing was over.
“Hence the commission is working hard to ensure all customers are metered.
“We want to get out of estimated billing that is why we are talking so much about meters.
“We are working with other stakeholders to ensure mass metering as this is very important to everyone,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report that customer commended NERC for the meeting as they said it was an opportunity to express themselves and called for the continuity of such forums.
Mr Kassim Olatoyinbo from Lagos State said that he was impressed about the meeting, adding that his impression about NERC had changed.
” I recommend that this online meeting is sustained,” he said.
Kassim said that he paid for a meter since April and nothing had been done about it, adding that DISCOS were not interested in metering as they preferred estimated billing.
Another customer, Mr Oluwaseun Adeyanju from Ikorudu, Lagos State thanked NERC for the meeting and ask it to do more in regulating the DISCOs.