Estimated Billing: NERC Caps DisCos Limits

• Estimated Billing: NERC Caps DisCos Limits

To better regulate electricity billing methodology for unmetered customers, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has capped estimated billing that can be issued by power distributing companies to unmetered customers.

The NERC said the Estimated Billing Methodology Regulation as a basis for calculating the consumption of unmetered customers by the Discos has been cancelled effective from February 20, 2020.

The commission said unmetered R2 and C1 customers can not be charged more than stipulated in the new directive.

C1 customers are small businesses (single and three-phase), while the R2 customers are residential customers who consume above 50 kilowatt-hour per month (single-phase and three-phase).

“A consumer of XYZ Disco resident in White Acre under R2 (single phase) tariff class has an energy cap of 78 kilowatt-hour per month and a tariff of N42 per kilowatt-hour. The maximum that XYZ Disco can invoice such a customer is 78kWhr x N24/kWhr = N1,872 per month,” NERC said.

The DisCos have been instructed to meter customers on higher tariff class not later than April 30, 2020, adding that customers will no longer pay the estimated bill if DisCos failed to supply meters.

“The customer shall remain connected to supply without further payment to the Discos until a meter is installed on the premises under the framework work of MAP Regulations or any other financing arrangement approved by the commission,” NERC said.

NERC added that “Discos shall ensure that all customers on tariff class A1 in their franchise areas are property identified and metered by April 30, 2020.”