Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said it would penalise eight electricity distribution companies for non-compliance with the implementation of the Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI).
In a statement by its head of public affairs, Dr. Usman Arabi, NERC said the Discos have been given a seven day ultimatum to present reasons why the penalty should be averted.
Arabi explained that enforcement letters were sent to all the Discos including Port Harcourt, Abuja, Yola and Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Eko and Benin Discos.
The statement read “The commission considers your actions as manifest and flagrant breaches and therefore requires you to show cause in writing within seven days from the date hereon, why enforcement should not be commenced against you and sanctions meted accordingly for non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the license granted you and the order on Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation.
“Condition 2 (1) of the terms and conditions of the licence granted the Discos provides as follows; ‘the licencee shall comply with the conditions of this licence and the requirements of the licenced business as set out in the Act and regulations approved by the commission in accordance with the commission’s statutory duty to monitor all licences.
“They also have been found to be collecting money from customers for credit meters, not minding whether they opted for the scheme, including not publicising the scheme, thus giving misleading information to customers.”
The CAPMI scheme should have been effective since May 14, 2013, NERC directed all the Discos to commence and be implemented at the same time.
Under the scheme, the Discos were to redeploy meters to willing customers, including the installation of same within 45 days from the date of the payment by any customer who shows interest in participating in the scheme.