What is Electricity Rights?

Virtually all Nigerians is an electricity consumer but few understand that they have rights in terms of distribution and supply of electricity. Do you know that as a user of electricity in Nigeria, you have some rights?

And these rights come hand-in-hand with certain obligations; that is, legal rights and legal duties are not absolute, but exist together in a symbiotic manner.

Consequently, every legal right exists with a specific accompanying legal duty. As a result, for every right to electricity a customer has, there is a duty which is owed in correlation.

The main regulator of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry is the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), established as an independent body by the Electricity Act 2023 to ensure the safety, security, reliability and quality of service in the production and delivery of electricity to consumers.

NERC gives licences to Distribution Companies (DisCos) to distribute electricity to the homes and offices of customers across Nigeria.

There are 15 rights and 11 accompanying obligations highlighted by NERC which are divided into four groups:

Meter Rights: Every individual has a right to a meter which is properly installed and functioning with transparent electricity billing when using the meter. All un-metered customers are to be legally issued electricity bills based on NERC’s estimated billing methodology.

Billing Rights: You have the right to contest any electricity bill and legally, you may refuse to pay disputed bill, but pay only the last undisputed bill as the contested bill goes through the dispute resolution process of NERC if you are un-metered. You must pay bills for electricity consumed within the stipulated time frame. You must also notify the DisCo serving your area of any outstanding electricity bill before moving into a new premises.

Connection Rights: The DisCo is legally prohibited from just coming to your residence and disconnecting your electricity even when you are owing without first giving you written notice that they will be disconnecting your electricity. They can’t lay ambush.

It is not the responsibility of electricity customer or the community to buy, replace or repair electricity transformers, poles and related equipment used in the supply of electricity but you must ensure protection of electrical installations and must not tamper with electrical equipment within your premises belonging to the DisCo.

Customer Satisfaction Rights: Where customers are unsatisfied with the service by the electricity distribution company, then they have a right to make a complaint directly to the DisCo. If they are unhappy with the resolution of the complaint, or they do not get a response in a satisfactory time, then the customer has a right to escalate the complaint to the NERC Forum Office within the coverage area of the DisCo. This is not the final escalation available, and so if the customer is still unhappy with the resolution by the NERC Forum Office, they can further appeal by writing a petition to the Commission.

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