Capping: Kaduna Electric set to refund to customers

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Kaduna Electric is set to comply with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) order, mandating it to refund overbilled customers.
Kaduna Electric and other Distribution Companies in the country were sanctioned for noncompliance with NERC’s Capping Order, directing them to ensure unmetered customers are not billed beyond a certain threshold.
According to NERC, capping is aimed at aligning the estimated bills for unmetered customers with the measured consumption of metered customers on the same supply feeder.
In a statement issued by the Head of Corporate Communication, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, Kaduna Electric, said it is ready to refund customers as directed by the regulator. It however noted that all customers who are to benefit from the refund must be ready to settle all their outstanding debts or risk disconnection.
It said the company is weighed down by a huge debt burden, which hampers its efforts at efficient service delivery to customers. The company urged customers to come forward and clear their debts as it now has zero tolerance for electricity debt accumulation by customers.
Abdulazeez remarked that the company which operates in Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States has to confront the reality of the recent developments in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, where distribution companies are required to ensure full remittance to the market for energy received and wheeled to it.
It, however, said this would be unachievable if customers refuse to settle their bills promptly and in full. It noted that one of the major constraints hampering the adequate supply of electricity has been the issue of illiquidity in the sector and that this bottleneck can only be overcome with full payments for energy consumed by customers.