It pains Nigerians when they look around the other houses in there neighborhood and see that only them do not have electricity supply. E dey pain eh!
But that is sometimes the reality. And sometimes this is because the electricity distribution company (disco) abruptly cut their electricity supply, sometimes without even informing the consumer.
According to consumer protection regulations the disco is supposed to provide reliable electricity for consumers and tell them before disconnecting their electricity supply.
Sometimes Nigerian consumers may decide to see a lawyer but may back down if the cost of taking the case to court is too much. We have also heard or seen stories of Nigerian consumers who take the law into their own hands and thus get on the wrong side of the law.
But the National Electricity Regulation Commission NERC has provided a cheaper and legal way that may be used to pursue such issues without breaking the bank or committing an offence that could lead to arrest and prosecution. That is what we will talk about today.
Please note the information provided in this article is general in nature and should not be considered a substitute for personalized legal advice.
If an electricity consumer feels their electricity supply has been unfairly disconnected, they can send an email of their complaint to their disco
including in that email details about the alleged unfair disconnection such as meter number, and phone number to facilitate communication in resolving the issue.
The consumer can get the official customer complaint email address and phone numbers of their electricity distribution company from this resource article provided by NERC. When on the page they can click on their own disco to get it’s contact details.
Contact through the disco’s email address can help the consumer document the process in case it is needed for future reference.
The serial number in the disco’s response email can be useful for tracking the complaint through phone calls. So, the consumer should consider writing it out.
The general rule in this kind of complaint is to give the disco a chance of one month to see if they’ll rectify the issue complained about.
If the electricity consumer’s concerns aren’t addressed within a month, he/she may consider escalating the matter to NERC itself by writing a complaint to NERC and attaching a copy of the complaint earlier sent to the disco.
NERC has binding powers over the discos, and can enforce corrections if the consumer has truly faced unjust disconnection. NERC has various appeal stages if the consumer is dissatisfied.
It is hoped that along the route from complaining to the disco to the various escalation steps the consumer gets effective remedy.
