OUTRAGEOUS ESTIMATED ELECTRICITY BILLS 30-04-25
By Sadiq Aminu Over 11 years after the privatisation of Nigeria’s power sector, it is ridiculous that millions of electricity customers do not have prepaid meters, and their billing for electricity consumed is still estimated.
Unfortunately, estimated billing has culminated in what customers call ‘crazy billing’, a bill far higher than the electricity consumed.
There are instances when consumers are slapped with bills 10 times higher than what they consumed. Often, their efforts to seek redress will hit a dead end as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission is powerless to stop the illegal acts of the distribution companies.
There is hardly any electricity consumer who would not have tasted the excesses of the DisCos, as most consumers must have been billed through the estimated method before they were issued with prepaid meters.
Recently, the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, shared his ‘crazy’ billing experience at the hands of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company.
He said, “Last month, the bill for the official residence was N2.7 million. This month, Eko DisCo sent a bill of N29 million. I sent it to the Commissioner for Energy. It is crazy. I actually procured a meter to avoid estimated billing, but converting it has been an ordeal.”
The experience of the deputy governor is an eye-opener to the fact that ordinary Nigerians with no political clout to wield must be going through worse ‘crazy billing’ experiences at the hands of the DisCos.
Hamzat’s ordeal is not an isolated one. In 2018, the former House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, lamented the excessive estimated billing at his Bauchi country home.
Often, customers are forced to pay debts imposed on them unfairly by DisCos through the ‘crazy bill’ method.
The DisCos deliberately ignore the customers’ complaints, wait for prepaid meters to be installed for the affected customers and deduct the debts through prepaid bill payments.
Most DisCos recently got a slap on the wrist from the lethargic NERC for some of their numerous ‘crazy’ estimated bills imposed on consumers.
The regulator announced that it sanctioned eight DisCos for failing to adhere to the monthly energy caps imposed on estimated billing for unmetered customers.
The fine collectively totalled N628m. This is too little and too soft on the DisCos, which regularly force consumers to pay for electricity not consumed.
The reality is that stopping the problem of ‘crazy billing’ is possible if NERC plays its role effectively by monitoring the estimated billing caps it established, attending promptly to complaints, and imposing stiffer sanctions on errant DisCos.
However, NERC’s regulatory weakness ensures the DisCos get away with many cases of inflated billing. With the regulator’s ability to resolve their cases, many customers have stopped complaining and have been licking their wounds.
NERC should establish itself as a respected regulator by imposing fines to deter unfair practices.
All customers must be metered. Metering is the best method to accurately measure consumption rather than estimation. NERC should specify a timeframe for DisCos to supply meters to applicants.
As of 2025, 7.18 million of the 13.34 million registered customers are unmetered, representing 53.85 per cent of the customer base.
The gap is huge. The DisCos, as well as the Federal Government, which still owns 40 per cent equity in the distribution companies, should step up efforts to cover the gap.
The Federal Government recently announced that it will begin receiving the first batch of 3,205,101 pre-paid meters it ordered from April 2025 as part of efforts to close Nigeria’s electricity metering gap. This is a lifting news.
The power supply situation has not improved. Nigeria is struggling to wheel 5,000 megawatts to the national grid, which collapses regularly. Its continental peers, Egypt, wheels 59,093MW and South Africa has 58,095MW.
Therefore, the federal and state governments, in concert with the private sector, need to synergise to move the power sector forward.