The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has fined the Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) ₦200m for violating a new tariff order.
In a statement on Friday, NERC stated, “AEDC has been fined ₦200,000,000 (Two Hundred Million Naira) for failure to comply with the prescribed customer band classifications for the tariff billing.”
The decision comes after a detailed review and customer feedback, which revealed that AEDC had applied the new tariff to all customer bands, contrary to the Order, which was designed to ensure fair billing practices.
NERC also mandated AEDC to reimburse all customers in Bands B, C, D, and E respectively that were billed above the allowed customer categories/tariff bands provided in the Order.
AEDC is also required to reimburse affected customers through the provision of the balance of customer tokens that the affected customers would be entitled to receive at the applicable rates. All token reimbursements shall be issued to the affected customers by 11 April 2024.
In addition to the reimbursement, AEDC has been directed to pay the sum of ₦200,000,000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira) as a fine for the flagrant breach of the Commission’s Order. The company is also required to file evidence of compliance with the directives with the Commission by 12 April 2024.
