The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has blocked a plan that would have forced Nigerians to pay for the replacement of obsolete prepaid electricity meters in the country.
The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of FCCPC, Mr. Tunji Bello, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement on consumer protection in Nigeria’s electricity sector in Abuja.
He said the commission intervened after concerns emerged that consumers could be made to bear the cost of infrastructure failures that were not their fault.
He maintained that Nigerians should never pay to replace obsolete meters and should *not be subjected to estimated billing* during the replacement process.
Bello added that electricity regulators must ensure all Nigerians enjoy the same level of protection regardless of where they live.
He said the commission stepped in after widespread public concerns over the planned replacement of obsolete Unistar prepaid meters used by customers of one of the electricity distribution companies.
The intervention, carried out in collaboration with Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), prevented consumers from being exposed to fresh financial burdens, estimated billing, and possible disruption of electricity supply during the replacement exercise, he said.
According to him, while replacing obsolete meters was ordinarily a routine technical exercise, many electricity consumers feared they would be forced to pay for new meters, despite not being responsible for the equipment becoming obsolete.
He lamented that consumers were also worried that delay in the replacement programme could expose them to estimated billing or interruptions in electricity supply.
He stated: “Those concerns were understandable. At their core were issues of fairness, affordability, continuity of supply and public confidence in the institutions responsible for consumer protection.”