A group, the All Electricity Consumers Protection Forum (AECPF), has sued the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company and the Eko Electricity Distribution Company for failing to implement the order capping estimated billing of some of their customers.
The suit dated July 12, 2021 was filed before an Ikeja High Court.
According to a news report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) accessed by our correspondent, the originating summons filed by the group’s lawyer, Mr Olalekan Matti, is supported by a 25-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the group’s National Secretary, Mrs. Kehinde Akinloye-Jones.
Specifically, the claimant alleged that the defendants had failed to comply with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC’s) Order on capping of unmetered Residential 2 and Commercial 1 electricity customers.
The AECPF claimed that both DisCos failed to comply with the capping Order NO/NERC/197/2020 for a period of 10 months from February 2020 to November 2020 as it related to the consumers affected by the capping Order.
The group, amongst other reliefs, asked the court to determine whether it was within the power of DisCos to disobey the directives of NERC pursuant to section 63(1) of Electric Power Section reform Act 2005 and to declare that the act of the first and second defendants violation of the capping method was unlawful.
In addition, it also asked the court for an order directing the defendants to refund the consumers affected by unlawful billing for the period of 10 months under a repealed estimation billing instead of capping.
The claimant further asked the court to direct the defendants to pay the sum of N500, 000 for the cost of the suit.
According to the news report by NAN, the suit is yet to be assigned to any judge and no date has been fixed for hearing.
