The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has imposed a fine of N1.69bn on Abuja Electricity Distribution Company for overbilling customers.

The penalty, documented in Order NERC/2024/114, was issued as part of the commission’s September 2024 Supplementary Order.

The regulatory document, ORDER/NERC/2024/114, which was dated August 30 and signed by Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, and Commissioner, Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, was published on NERC’s website on Thursday.

According to NERC, the fine is based on AEDC’s non-compliance with the commission’s previous order on capping estimated billing for electricity consumers.

After investigating AEDC’s billing practices, NERC identified that the company had overcharged customers from January to September 2023, leading to the imposition of the fine which is equivalent to 10 per cent of the overbilled amount.

The regulatory document, titled September 2024 Supplementary Order to the Multi-Year Tariff Order 2024 for AEDC, outlined the reasons behind the fine and adjustments to AEDC’s revenue requirements and tariffs.

The commission stated that it had “approved the deduction of N1.69bn from the total annual OpEx of AEDC effective September 2024, being 10 per cent of the overbilled amount by AEDC for the period covering January-September 2023.”

The fine was levied in response to complaints by consumers and subsequent investigations that revealed AEDC had not adhered to the regulatory guidelines on estimated billing.

NERC’s order emphasised, “The commission has approved the deduction of N1.69bn from AEDC’s annual operating expenditure as a penalty for non-compliance with the order on capping estimated bills.”

In addition to the fine, NERC also issued directives aimed at improving service delivery and monitoring compliance with service-based tariffs.

AEDC is required to ensure the continuous monitoring of its service levels, particularly regarding electricity supply to Band A feeders.

“Where AEDC fails to deliver on the committed level of service on a Band A feeder for consecutive two days, AEDC shall on the next day by 10am publish on its website an explanation of the reasons for the failure,” the order specified.

The Supplementary Order also mandated AEDC to procure a minimum of 61MW of embedded generation, with at least 30MW sourced from renewable energy, to improve the reliability of electricity supply within its franchise area.

The procurement of this capacity must be completed by April 2025.

NERC emphasised that this measure was necessary to meet AEDC’s service delivery commitments under its Service-Based Tariff framework.

Regarding the adjustments to AEDC’s tariffs, NERC noted that the commission had approved new tariffs effective from September 1, 2024.

NERC also made provisions for compensating customers for service failures, particularly for those on Band A feeders.

“AEDC shall make appropriate compensation to the affected customers in Band A feeders listed in Appendix 3 for failure to deliver up to 20 hours of average supply but more than 18 hours of average supply,” the order stated.

The Supplementary Order, which will remain in effect until a new tariff review is issued, underscores NERC’s commitment to ensuring that electricity distribution companies adhere to regulatory guidelines while protecting consumers from unfair billing practices.

The Naira yesterday depreciated to N1,655 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,645 per
dollar traded on Wednesday.

Similarly, the Naira yesterday depreciated to N1,649.76 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM rose to N1,649.76 per dollar from N1,558.75 per dollar on Wednesday, indicating N91.01 depreciation for the naira.

Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rate narrowed to N5.24 per dollar from N86.25 per dollar the previous day.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed that all Point of Sale operators must route transactions through licensed payment terminal service aggregators.

A circular posted on the CBN’s website on Thursday stated that the move was aimed at enhancing the tracking and management of electronic transactions in the country.

“As part of efforts to mitigate the concerns regarding channelling all Point of Sale transactions through a single aggregator, the CBN on April 19, 2024, granted a second PTSA licence to Unified Payment Services Limited.

“In furtherance of the above, the CBN hereby directs as follows: 1 Acquirers are henceforth required to route all transactions from PoS terminals at merchant and agent locations, whether on physical or electronic PoS terminals, through any CBN-licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregator PTSAs are required to send PoS transactions to only Processors certified by the relevant Payment Scheme, nominated by the Acquirer and licensed by CBN,” the apex bank noted.

It noted that the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc was granted a PTSA licence in 2011 to handle the aggregation of PoS transactions.

However, to address concerns about routing all transactions through one aggregator, the CBN granted a second PTSA licence to Unified Payment Services Limited earlier this year in April.

“To achieve the objective of tracking electronic transactions in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria in August 2011, granted a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator licence to Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc. As part of efforts to mitigate the concerns regarding channelling all Point of Sale transactions through a single aggregator, the CBN on April 19, 2024, granted a second PTSA licence to Unified Payment Services Limited.”

The CBN has instructed that all acquirers, the institutions responsible for processing payments from PoS terminals, must channel transactions through any of the two licensed aggregators.

In addition, licensed processors are required to integrate with both PTSAs to give acquirers the flexibility to choose their preferred service providers.

It noted that payment terminal service providers, responsible for deploying and managing PoS terminals, must ensure their devices and applications are configured to work with any PTSA chosen by the acquirers.

According to the CBN, PTSPs are also required to submit monthly reports to the CBN, detailing the number of merchants and agents they manage, as well as the PTSA services used.

Similarly, the CBN has mandated that each PTSA submit monthly reports of all transactions processed through their platforms.

According to the apex bank, the reports must be submitted to the director of the Payments System Management Department within seven days after the end of each month.

The CBN urged all PSPs to regularise their operations with the PTSAs within 30 days, warning that non-compliance with the directive would attract appropriate sanctions.

Recall that the Corporate Affairs Commission announced on July 7 that all Point of Sale operators in the country must register with it before September 5.