DisCos fail to provide 20 hours of power to Band A customers, blame ‘system outages’

Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) have started publishing their inability to meet the required power supply for Band A customers — as directed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

On April 3, NERC approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under Band A classification, from N66 to N225.

Under Band A, customers are entitled to a minimum of 20 hours of power supply per day and all DisCos have been authorised to implement the policy immediately.

However, to ensure transparency and accountability, NERC said where the DisCo fails to deliver on the committed level of service to a Band-A feeder for two consecutive days, the DisCo should, the next day by 10.00 am, publish on its website, reasons for failing.

The regulator directed the DisCo to update the affected customers on the timeline for restoration of service to the committed service level.

In line with the NERC directive, four out of 11 DisCos published their inability to meet the required daily supply and also gave reasons.

These companies include Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDC), and Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).

On its X page on Tuesday, IBEDC said some Band A customers were not given 20 hours of electricity due to system outages and tripping on its feeders.

Also, KEDCO said a circuit breaker issue affected its ability to provide the required hours of electricity for its premium customers.

Below are posts made by the DisCos explaining their failure to deliver the service required:

Important Update.#ibedc #distributingpower #changinglives pic.twitter.com/Vvzf16uOdB

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— IBEDC (@IBEDC_NG) April 9, 2024

On its part, BEDC apologised to customers for not meeting the required minimum service level of 20 hours on the feeders as of April 8.

Public Notice! pic.twitter.com/wxHaozAc5J

— BEDC Electricity Plc (@beninelectric) April 9, 2024

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Similarly, KAEDC apologised for failing to supply up to the expected hours of light as of April 8 to the affected customers.

Public Announcement pic.twitter.com/RZ4biqUc0k

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— Kaduna Electric (@Kadunaelectric) April 9, 2024

Meanwhile, KEDCO, on its X page on Monday, displayed a record of hours each feeder (especially Band A) accessed electricity between April 3 and April 8.

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT pic.twitter.com/87iJf3QZUR

— Kedco Plc (@kedcoplc) April 8, 2024

Meanwhile, on April 9, NERC told DisCos to prioritise customers on Band A for metering.

The electricity regulator said about 20 percent of Band A customers are unmetered, urging DisCos to meter all customers on the premium band feeders.