NERC Chairman Vows Crackdown On Meter Bypass, Electricity Theft

The chairman-designate of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Engr. Abdullahi Ramat, has unveiled sweeping reforms to tackle endemic challenges successful the powerfulness sector, vowing to enactment with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to curb energy theft, metre bypass, and amerciable connections.

Speaking successful Abuja, Ramat said his medication would prioritise the usage of exertion to code inefficiencies that person plagued the energy worth concatenation for decades.

He disclosed plans to motorboat a mobile application, disposable connected some Android and iOS, that volition integrate with the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) of Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and the National Independent System Operator (NISO), giving NERC real-time visibility into payments and operations.

“We volition besides deploy a whistleblowing tool, akin to the assemblage policing bundle LURA app I pioneered astatine the section authorities level. This volition empower citizens to anonymously study energy theft, metre bypass, and amerciable connections,” helium said.

Ramat stressed that the EFCC would play a cardinal relation successful enforcement, borrowing from the agency’s caller occurrence successful combating naira mutilation.

He outlined a strategy of arrests, prosecutions, and name-and-shame campaigns against offenders, with violators facing penalties of up to 3 years’ imprisonment arsenic provided nether Section 208 of the Electricity Act 2023.

“This attack volition curb energy theft and assistance trim tariffs, since portion of these losses are unfairly factored into user bills. Honest customers should not proceed paying for the crimes of energy thieves,” helium declared.

The NERC president lamented that astir fractional of Nigeria’s generated powerfulness is mislaid owed to inefficiencies, leaving the assemblage with hardly 50 per cent operational capacity. This, helium argued, has discouraged investors and worsened the liquidity situation contempt 2 decades of reforms and 12 years of privatisation.

“While the telecoms assemblage has thrived nether privatisation, the powerfulness assemblage continues to endure due to the fact that of its fragmented ownership structure. With NERC arsenic the apex regulator, however, we person the mandate to thrust afloat digitisation crossed the worth chain,” helium said.

According to Ramat, modern IT tools tin optimise operations, integrate outgo and monitoring systems, stabilise the grid, enforce transparency, and trim Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collection (ATC&C) losses.

He contrasted Nigeria’s reliance connected outdated systems with planetary trends, noting that precocious economies clasp blockchain, artificial intelligence, instrumentality learning, and unreality computing, portion galore African governments lag.

“Without urgent action, governments hazard losing their quality to tax, regulate, and safeguard sovereignty, creating a chaotic integer Wild West. Technology is nary longer optional – it is the motor of nationalist competitiveness. For Nigeria to thrive globally, automation and e-Governance indispensable determination from aspiration to action,” helium warned.

Ramat expressed assurance that digitisation would reconstruct capitalist confidence, support consumers, pull competition, summation liquidity, and trim tariffs.

“This is not mentation – it is achievable,” helium concluded.