WITH a tacit verdict that many of the distribution companies were violating the metering regulations, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has ordered concerned electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) to commence metering the consumers who have paid with immediate effect.

Giving them a 14-day ultimatum to submit a list of all customers who have paid for meters since January 2011,

NERC Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, in a letter to the chief executives of the companies, warned that “any DISCO that does not comply with this new directive will be barred from collecting the new electricity tariff.

In that letter, dated July 19, the commission expressed utter dismay that all DISCOs have been in complete violation of the order as it relates to customers who paid within the given time-frame without being metered, noting that “NERC views this conduct as totally unresponsive, and undermining the effort of the reform.”

Earlier in the year, NERC had issued an order on Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI), which was its response to the lingering issue of non-issuance of meters by DISCOs. It enables interested customer to advance money to the electricity distribution company and in return, be given electricity credit until he or she recovers the cost of the meter.

The CAPMI order, among others, stipulates that all DISCOs forward to NERC the data of all customers who paid for meters but had not been supplied. Moreover, information from NERC indicates that in 2011, a N2.9 billion metering intervention fund was made available to the companies with a view to closing the unacceptable metering gap.

However, “one year after, no appreciable progress was made by the companies, and this compelled NERC to demand for performance reports from the DISCOs. Eight of the 12 DISCOs submitted reports that fell far short of the requirements of NERC. The rest did not submit any report of how they spent the money,” NERC noted.

NERC further warned the DISCOs that failure to comply with the 14-day ultimatum would also compel the commission to institute enforcement procedures that might lead to the removal of their chief executives.