The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has imposed a fine of N200 million on Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) for implementing the new tariff across all customer categories.
Daily News 24 reports that the NERC has also instructed the company to refund customers accordingly.
This followed the recent hike of electricity tariff for customers on Band A feeders to over N200 per kwh from N66 per kwh by the regulator.
The tariff hike has already generated outrage from citizens across the country, who described the increment as “insensitive” and demand immediate reversal of the policy.
In a statement, the NERC said it had taken an enforcement action against the AEDC for violating the tariff hike plan.
“NERC Fines AEDC ₦200 Million for Violation of the New Tariff Order, Directs Customer Refunds The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (“Commission”) has taken enforcement action against the Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (“AEDC”) for non-compliance with the Supplementary Order to the April 2024 Multi-Year Tariff Order 2024 for AEDC (the “Order”).
Also read: NERC approves electricity tariff increase for customers on band A
“AEDC has been fined ₦200,000,000 (Two Hundred Million Naira) for failure to comply with the prescribed customer band classifications for the tariff billing.
“This decision follows a detailed review and customer feedback, which revealed that AEDC had applied the new tariff to all customer bands, contrary to the Order, which was designed to ensure fair billing practices.
“Reimburse all customers in Bands B, C, D and E respectively that were billed above the allowed customer categories/tariff bands provided in the Order.”
