KADUNA Electric has assured customers it overbilled through estimated billing of refunds following the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) directive.
The NERC had sanctioned and directed distribution companies that overbilled customers to credit such customers, citing a violation of its capping order on estimated billing.
In a statement, the head of corporate communication at Kaduna Electric, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, confirmed the company’s readiness to comply with NERC’s directive on Friday, February 23.
“The NERC directive mandates distribution companies, including Kaduna Electric, to refund customers who were overcharged,” he said.
“The sanction from NERC stemmed from the non-compliance of Kaduna Electric and other distribution companies with the capping order, which limits the billing of unmetered customers to a specific threshold,” he added.
He stressed that the move aimed to align estimated bills for unmetered customers with the actual consumption of metered customers on the same supply feeder.
Abdulazeez also emphasised that customers benefiting from the refund must settle outstanding debts to avoid disconnection.
According to the NERC capping order, all unmetered-residential (R2) and customer one (C1) shall not be invoiced for energy consumption beyond the price capped in schedule one of the order.
The order also noted that all residential customers who consume no more than 50 kilowatts -kWh (R1 customers) per month should be billed NGN4 kilowatts-kWh at a maximum of NGN200 per month.
The order also directed that any customer whose current estimated bill is below the capped price shall remain so without upward review until the installation of a meter, and the Disco must disconnect any customer who rejects the installation of a meter.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.