NERC: The people who steal energy are the top guys

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says the “top guys” are responsible for energy theft in the country.

The commission said no amount of technology can eliminate energy theft.

Nathan Shatti, NERC’s commissioner for finance and management services, said this at the April edition of the monthly power dialogue of the nextier advisory in Abuja.

He said the commission had met with Femi Gbajabiamila, the lawmaker who proposed a legislative bill to criminalise estimated billing to consumers by distribution companies (DisCos) in the country.

He said they discussed the proposed legislation and how it will result in chaos in the electricity market.

Shatti further disclosed that a company from Ghana made a presentation to NERC on how the practice of meter bypass could be dealt with in the country using a new kind of metre and that a team from the commission will visit Ghana to understudy the initiative.

“Next week, a team from NERC is going to Ghana because we got a company that is actually devising a kind of meter that can detect energy theft. They came, made a presentation and we felt what they are showing is good and so our team is going to Ghana to look at it.

“But let me just explain something about meter bypass or energy theft. It is beyond regulation and it isn’t beyond enforcing the regulation. It isn’t also beyond technology. There is no amount of technology or checks that you will do to eliminate energy theft.

“However, there are things you can do and it has to do with our moral psyche as Nigerians. If you check properly, the calibre of people who steal energy are the top guys. They are those people who you think will never do such things, not the small people in the society.

“So, it is a problem of a society and we all have a responsibility to stop it.”