ABUJA — The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has successfully intervened to stop a planned replacement of obsolete prepaid electricity meters, ensuring consumers are not forced to pay for infrastructure failures beyond their control.
Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of the FCCPC, Mr. Tunji Bello, disclosed this on Thursday during a stakeholder engagement on consumer protection and regulatory cooperation in Nigeria’s electricity sector held in Abuja.
Bello said the commission acted after widespread public concern over the proposed replacement of obsolete Unistar prepaid meters by one of the electricity distribution companies. Consumers feared they would be compelled to buy new meters, face estimated billing during the process, or suffer supply interruptions.
“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,” Bello stated.
Working with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), the FCCPC convened a meeting with all electricity distribution companies. The engagement led to the suspension of the replacement exercise pending full compliance with regulatory requirements, a decision endorsed by both NERC and NEMSA.
The resolution is anchored on NERC’s order on the Structured Replacement of Faulty and Obsolete End-user Customer Meters. Under the order, consumers will not pay for replacing obsolete meters, will not experience interruptions in supply during the process, and will not be subjected to estimated billing due to implementation delays.
“Those safeguards reflected the principle that consumers should never be disadvantaged because infrastructure has reached the end of its useful life through no fault of their own,” Bello said.
He emphasised that the intervention highlights the value of inter-agency collaboration over institutional rivalry. “Strong regulation is not built on institutional rivalry. It is built on cooperation, mutual respect and a shared commitment to the public interest.”
Bello noted that the Electricity Act, 2023, which allows states to establish their own electricity regulatory commissions, has made seamless cooperation among regulators even more essential. Consumers, he stressed, view the electricity sector as a single system and simply expect protection regardless of which agency holds jurisdiction.
He urged distribution companies and other operators to comply fully with regulations, resolve complaints promptly, and operate transparently to rebuild public confidence.
“Wherever an electricity consumer lives in Nigeria, they should have the same confidence that they will be treated fairly, that complaints will be resolved effectively, and that lawful regulatory decisions will be respected,” Bello added.
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