By Victor Nwachukwu
The National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has assured electricity consumers in the South-East that it will soon resolve metering issues for better customer satisfaction.
NERC’s Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Mrs Aisha Mahmoud, gave the assurance on Wednesday at a town hall meeting with electricity stakeholders in Owerri.
The meeting was organised by the commission in collaboration with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).
Mahmoud said that the three-day meeting was convened to look into consumers’ complaints, with a view to addressing them.
She expressed dismay over persistent issues of metering, in spite of the privatisation of the power sector and the enactment of the Power Sector Reform Act.
She said that the commission was already sensitising Nigerians on the mandate of the commission.
Mahmoud also said that over the years, the commission had come up with several initiatives, such as the approval of the National Master Metering Scheme, to ensure that customers were metered for increased customer satisfaction.
“We are here to educate electricity consumers on their rights, to hear your complaints and iron out the issues.
“The fact that many customers still complain about the absence of meters is an indication of their dissatisfaction, hence the need to holistically address metering issues,” Mahmoud said.
The Chief Technical Officer of EEDC, Mr Vincent Ekwekwu, spoke on metering plans for Phase 1.
Ekwekwu said that the company had plans to deploy 710,000 meters in the zone, beginning from September 2023.
He said that the essence was to help check cases of over billing.
He also said that EEDC had concluded plans to execute 43 projects in various parts of Imo, including New Owerri, Egbu, Naze and Port Harcourt Road, amongst others.
He said that the objective was to improve power generation and reduce erratic power supply.
A customer, Mr Paulicap Anayochukwu, thanked the commission for convening the meeting.
Anayochukwu advised the regulatory agency to endeavour to make meters available to consumers as a matter of urgency.
This, he said, would help to checkmate the challenges associated with estimated billing. (NAN)
