Original report
NERC don fine Ikeja Electric and Eko Electricity Distribution Company for overbilling customers across Lagos. The regulator found that the DisCos were billing customers above the approved tariff bands for months, and in some cases charging consumers for meters they never received. Thousands of customers across areas like Ikeja, Surulere, Victoria Island, and Lekki were affected. When customers complained through the DisCo customer care lines, most got no response. Some were told the overbilling was a "system error" but the charges continued on subsequent bills. NERC's ruling directs the companies to refund affected customers, but tracking who was overbilled and by how much has been nearly impossible for ordinary Lagosians. This is the 4th time NERC has sanctioned these DisCos for the same overbilling pattern in less than 3 years. The regulator needs to enforce refunds, not just issue fines that the companies treat as a cost of doing business.