The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has fined the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) N47. 67 million for allegedly refusing to submit its audited reports.

The utility was accused of not submitting its 2013 and 2014 audited financial statements thus violating Section 63 (1) of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005.

In a letter signed by the Acting Chairman of NERC, Dr. Anthony Akah, and General Manager, Legal, Licensing and Enesterday, TCN was given two weeks to pay the fine.
The fine attracts five per cent interest daily after the due date, the commission said in Abuja.In a summary of findings on the grounds of infractions, NERC said it reminded TCN of its obligations to submit audited financial accounting statements for years 2013 and 2014 in several correspondences with the corporation but failed to get satisfactory answers.

Head, Public Affairs Department at NERC, Dr. Usman Abba Arabi, said TCN was found to have persistently refused or neglected to comply with the commission’s written requests.

Meanwhile, the Director-General, National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), Abuja, Reuben Okeke, said yesterday that the country has about 22 million unregistered electricity consumer, meaning a huge revenue loss for the country.

Citing a document released from the Bureau of Statisticleased from the Bureau of Statistics, he explained that out of the 28 million households in the country, 5. 2 million were registered electricity consumers while 22.8 million remained unregistered, thereby causing a great loss of revenue.

Okeke spoke as guest lecturer at the Professor Barth O. Nnaji biennial lecture series with the theme, “Science and Technology Challenges in a Depressed Economy,” at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Agbani.

He said: “The implication is apt and clear such that people should understand it. If you have not registered somebody in your billing system, you cannot collect money from that person.

“First is that any unregistered electricity consumer that has not been registered in the billing system will not be getting bill to make payments and that is a great loss to the utility. From what you have seen there, out of 28 million households in Nigeria, as published by bureau of statistics, we have about 5, 200 million households that are in the grid network from which money is made to sustain the power generation.”


http://www.energywatchng.com/nerc-fines-tcn-n47-67m-for-allegedly-failing-to-submit-audited-account/

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