Tough times lie ahead for electricity consumers involved in any form of theft, including unauthorised access, meter tampering, and bypassing.
This is because the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in an amended Order No: NERC/2024/148 released yesterday, rolled out fresh sanctions to penalize energy thieves.
The latest order replaces the earlier one issued on December 6, 2017. The regulator explained that NERC is required by section 34 (1) (b) of the Electricity Act 2023 (“EA” or “Act”) to maximize access to electricity services by promoting and facilitating customer connection to distribution systems in both rural and urban areas.
“The Commission has noted with concern and received complaints from DisCos on the increase in incidents of unauthorized access to electricity and meter bypass by customers.”
The amended order, according to NERC, “aligns with the Electricity Act 2023 and the Customer Protection Regulations (CPR) 2023, which allows Distribution Companies (DisCos) to disconnect unauthorized connections without notice and prescribe reconnection conditions.”
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