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Across the states, there have been persistent complaints by electricity consumers about outrageous estimated and arbitrary billing, disconnections without due process and poor electricity service by Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos). The flurry of complaints calls for urgent need to resolve the long-standing issues with the Discos because the consumers deserve fair treatment and transparent billing. There should also be effective redress mechanism whenever the service providers fail to meet their obligations.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Act 2018 charges the commission with protecting and promoting the interests and welfare of consumers across every sector of the economy, and electricity consumers are no exception. Also, every Nigerian who pays for a service is entitled to fair treatment, accurate billing and to seek redress when there is breach. As the FCCPC Act says, speedy resolution is not merely a performance indicator, it is a promise made to every Nigerian who feels aggrieved or unfairly treated by any service provider. Unfortunately, the Discos across the country are in breach of these provisions that frown upon estimated and arbitrary billing.
This is probably why the FCCPC recently warned Discos against estimated billing and illegal disconnection, and threatened to deploy its enforcement powers against operators that fail to comply with regulatory directives. The stern warning by the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the agency, Mr. Tunji Bello, at a recent on the-spot electricity consumer complaints stakeholders resolution Town Hall meeting in Ikorodu, Lagos, reflects the extent of the complaints about estimated billing nationwide. Indeed, it is high time estimated billing gave way to accurate metering.
Regulatory directives on billing, illegal disconnection, and reconnection must be strictly obeyed. Consumer service must now move from unfair billing to transparent customers’ service delivery. Estimated billing should be discouraged by all means because it creates systemic economic injustice, consumer exploitation, and operational friction in the power sector. Often, unmetered customers are billed exorbitantly for power supply they never consumed. It amounts to paying for darkness, especially during extended blackout periods which happen frequently across the country. There is also lack of transparency and verification in these matters.
In this case, consumers have no independent way to verify or audit how the Discos calculate projected power usage. This leads to arbitrary and opaque pricing. Besides, Discos have been accused of ‘padding’ and corporate abuse using estimated billing to bridge their financial collection deficits and protect corporate balance sheets rather than reflecting real service delivery. Inflated and unfair estimates drive consumers towards meter bypass, illegal connection and several conflicts with Discos’ staff. Despite guidelines from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) capping estimated billing based meters, Discos have repeatedly and brazenly flouted the rules. As a result of over-billing of electricity consumers last year, the NERC fined eight Discos a total of N628 million for violating estimated billing caps set by the commission. The affected Discos include those in Abuja, Jos, Kaduna, Yola, Enugu, Eko and Ikeja in Lagos. In addition to the hefty fines, the defaulting Discos were directed to issue commensurate credit adjustments to all customers affected by the over-billing.
The NERC had also in 2024 issued the Order on Capping of Estimated Billing and subsequently issued a monthly energy bills for unmetered customers with the measured consumption of metered customers in the same power supply feeder. This is in pursuant of section 34(1)(d) of the Electricity Act 2023. While the issue of estimated billing and illegal disconnection may take some time to resolve, we advise electricity consumers to regularly verify their feeder band and consult the official monthly Caps provided throughout the NERC Capping Guidelines, as well as lodge their fund complaints directly to the Discos’ resolution desk, or report directly to FCCPC.
In all, the problem of estimated billing could be solved, perhaps permanently, through a combination of widespread smart metering infrastructure, strict regulatory enforcement and data-driven grid management. Replacing old or non-existent meters with smart meters that transmit real-time consumption data directly to the utility company via cellular or radio networks as done in other countries, including some African countries like South Africa, Morocco, Egypt and Ghana, is the right way to go. This is in addition to the prepaid option. In all of this, severe financial penalties on Discos that fail to meet metering targets remain a good measure against erring Discos.
The Federal Government, the Ministry of Power and the Discos should embark on mass metering of unmetered electricity consumers across the country. Nigeria had about 4.7 million unmetered electricity consumers as at August 2026, out of 12.75million active registered consumers. This translates to 63.1 per cent of national electricity metering rate. Apart from ensuring efficient use of electricity, mass metering will largely curb electricity theft and reduce wastage.
