The Electricity Consumers Protection Advocacy Centre (ECPAC) has urged the federal government to include consumer representatives in the inter-agency committee set up to oversee the decentralisation of Nigeria’s electricity market.
The group argued that the exclusion of electricity consumers and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) from the committee undermines the interests of key stakeholders affected by reforms in the power sector.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, ECPAC executive director, Princewill Okorie, said the committee inaugurated by the minister of power, Joseph Tegbe, was made up largely of representatives of government agencies and industry operators, leaving out consumers.
He noted that the committee comprises officials from the Ministry of Power, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), electricity distribution companies and generation companies.
According to Okorie, the omission of consumer representatives and the FCCPC contravenes Section 34(1)(f) of the Electricity Act, 2023, which requires electricity regulation to be fair and balanced for consumers, licensees and investors.
He also called on the federal government to tackle what he described as “electricity crimes” allegedly committed by electricity distribution companies, including estimated billing, illegal disconnections, electricity theft, infrastructure takeover, vandalism and failure to repair faults in line with customer service standards.
Okorie urged the minister of power and the National Assembly to ensure that ongoing amendments to the Electricity Act strengthen consumer protection and include stronger provisions to curb abuses within the electricity market.
