Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council has called for transparency in the operations of Distribution Companies, DisCos in the country if Nigerians are to enjoy improved power supply and eradicate the various complexities facing the power sector.
Irukera said this at the recent FCCPC Electricity Town Hall Meeting hosted in Ikeja Lagos to proffer solution to the challenges facing consumers on power supply in Nigeria.
According to Irukera, the power sector in Nigeria is going through several levels of complexities, but the major concern is to ensure that consumers are treated fairly in the provision of electricity services.
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He pointed out the need for transparency in the operations of the distribution companies while urging customers to be disciplined and civil in their engagement with the companies. Irukera argues that companies need to begin to be more transparent in the way they do their business.
Irukera agreed that there is absolutely no reason people should pay for what they have not consumed. He noted the infrastructure challenge and poor customer relationship.
For the period over which estimated billing will subsist, he makes a case for rational, transparent, reasonable bills, and insist that there should be a linear connection between the bill estimate and actual usage. He argues that the arbitrariness in the billing must stop.
“What I will call for is regulators coming together to meet with these companies and find ways to address the problems and penalize infractions appropriately. I believe a stick and carrot regime of regulation would prove effective. Ensuring good conduct in the power sector is not what the regulator can handle alone; it needs the support of other operators and consumers.” He further pointed out that, “we are in a difficult situation in the sense that; we are trapped between a rock and a hard place. We cannot cancel licenses at this point, so we are condemned to work with what we have and nurture the process and people for improved performance.”
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He also called for an enabling environment for competition to thrive in the electricity sector
‘For instance, we have a new law that says there should be healthy competition. What we have to continue to do is to work on how to make each segment of the power value chain more competitive. We need to behaviour along the whole power loop” he said
Irukera tasks the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) to step up its game and ensure that regardless of the challenges, there is no excuse for people to pay for what they have not consumed.
The regulatory boss decried the use of armed policemen in community operations of Discos. The use of police officers to enforce their rights to payment without court orders, he says, is illegal. He insists that debt recovery should be approached in a manner that does not infringe upon the rights of consumers.