The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) must refund over N11 billion to customers in the southeast region for overbilling them between January and September 2023. This order, issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), follows findings that EEDC overestimated bills for 1,011,402 customers during this period.
NERC has directed EEDC to credit these customers’ accounts in the February 2024 billing cycle based on the commission’s assessment outlined in Schedule 1. The commission noted that EEDC’s persistent non-compliance with the capping of estimated bills led to widespread customer dissatisfaction and apathy, contributing to liquidity issues in Nigeria’s electricity supply industry (NESI).
A detailed review by NERC revealed that EEDC over-billed customers by a total of N11,866,263,420.31. Specific monthly over-billings include N1,933,495,624 for 203,375 customers in September, N1,745,269,356 for 188,298 customers in August, and N1,700,205,554 for 169,867 customers in July.
NERC’s order mandates that EEDC reconcile and issue credit adjustments for all over-billed customers between January and September 2023 by the end of March 2024. Additionally, EEDC must publish the list of credit adjustment beneficiaries in two national dailies and on its website by March 31, 2024.
To enforce compliance, NERC has imposed a deduction of N1,186,626,342, equivalent to 10% of the over-billed amount, from EEDC’s annual operational expenses over the next 12 months during the subsequent tariff review. The commission warned that further non-compliance could result in greater deductions from EEDC’s administrative operating expenses.
Efforts to obtain a comment from EEDC were unsuccessful, as the company’s spokesperson, Emeka Eze, declined to speak on the matter.