NERC receives 3.25 million complaints about estimated billing, others

Outrageous billings, service interruptions and illegal disconnections topped the list of over 3.25 million complaints made by consumers to the electricity distribution companies, also known as DisCos within five years.

This was as 430 employees of the companies and the third parties died from 1,528 job-related accidents within the same period.

According to an analysis of the quarterly reports released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission obtained by our correspondent, a total of 2.89 million complaints were resolved representing an 88.92 per cent resolution rate.

The reports, which covered the period between January 2018 and June 2022, indicated that service interruptions, poor voltage, load shedding, inadequate metering, prevalent practices of estimated billing, disconnections and delayed connection of consumers back to supply networks were predominant features of complaints received by the commission.

It added that complaints that could not be handled by the DisCos were escalated to NERC.

Apart from the poor services, NERC’s report also indicated that 1,528 accidents were reported, with 430 workers and third parties dying as a result of electricity-related accidents, and 214 injuries reported by the utilities.

Meanwhile, an analysis of the report showed that in 2018, from 527,285 complaints received by the companies, 382,499 were resolved.

In 2019, 648,537 complaints were made and 553,756 were resolved.

In 2020, the NERC report said 857,108 complaints from customers who were unsatisfied with Discos’ services and decisions were lodged at its offices and 799,236 were solved, while in 2021, 725,533 complaints, 694,154 were resolved and 494,394 complaints were made and 462,398 resolved in 2022. The commission in the report, however, restated its commitment to ensuring improved customer service delivery.

thTV Admin, Owerri