The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has disclosed that it halted a planned replacement of obsolete prepaid electricity meters to prevent consumers from being forced to bear the cost of replacing outdated equipment.
Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the commission, Tunji Bello, said the intervention followed widespread public concern that electricity users could be made to pay for new meters or be subjected to estimated billing during the replacement process.
Speaking on Thursday at a stakeholder engagement on consumer protection and regulatory cooperation in Nigeria’s electricity sector in Abuja, Bello insisted that consumers should not be penalised for infrastructure failures beyond their control.
“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, ” he said.
According to him, the controversy centred on plans to replace obsolete Unistar prepaid meters used by customers of one electricity distribution company.
Bello said the FCCPC quickly convened a meeting involving the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) and electricity distribution companies to address the concerns.
The discussions, he said, resulted in the suspension of the replacement exercise until all regulatory requirements were met.
“Following deliberations, the replacement exercise was suspended pending compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, a position that was endorsed by both NERC and NEMSA.”
Bello explained that the eventual resolution was based on NERC’s order on the Structured Replacement of Faulty and Obsolete End-user Customer Meters, which guarantees that consumers would not pay for replacing obsolete meters, would not experience electricity disconnection during the exercise and would not be placed on estimated billing because of delays in implementation.
“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, ” he said.
He described the intervention as a clear example of how collaboration among regulatory agencies can prevent disputes before they arise.
According to Bello, effective consumer protection goes beyond resolving complaints after they occur and should focus on preventing problems through early intervention.
“Success should therefore be measured not only by the number of complaints resolved, but also by the number of complaints prevented, ” he said.
The FCCPC boss said the Electricity Act 2023, which allows states to establish their own electricity regulatory commissions, has made stronger collaboration among regulators even more important.
He noted that electricity consumers expect seamless service regardless of which agency has oversight of the sector.
“When supply is interrupted or a bill appears incorrect, they are not concerned about which regulator has jurisdiction. They simply expect protection, ” he added.
Bello stressed that the commission respected NERC’s statutory authority throughout the intervention, saying the objective was to strengthen, rather than undermine, the existing regulatory framework.
“Strong regulation is not built on institutional rivalry. It is built on cooperation, mutual respect and a shared commitment to the public interest, ” he said.
He urged electricity distribution companies and other operators in the power value chain to comply fully with regulatory requirements, address customer complaints promptly and operate transparently to build public confidence in Nigeria’s electricity sector.
Bello added that consumers across the country should enjoy equal protection and fair treatment as more state electricity regulatory commissions assume responsibility for intrastate electricity markets.
