The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has clarified that the outstanding electricity bills of landlords are not to be enforced on new tenants.
The NERC Commissioner, Finance and Management Services, Nathan Shatti, made the clarification during a live programme on “meters and metering” on Tuesday.
During the programme, which was streamed live by on NERC social media platforms, Shatti explained that there is an existing court judgment barring the imposition of landlords’ outstanding bills on new tenants.
It was gathered that many new tenants were asked to pay the outstanding bills of their landlords in the country, with Distribution Companies disconnecting customers who failed to comply.
But Shatti told new tenants who are asked to pay the outstanding bills of their landlords to contact the NERC.
He also explained that “new tenants who spend their money to procure meters will be refunded through a mechanism that the NERC will come up with”.
The commissioner added that there is also a court order criminalising actions contrary to capping policy in the country.
Capping means that Distribution Companies cannot charge un-metered customers more than they charge metered customers in any neighbourhood.