Electricity consumers will pay a fine of up to N300,000 if they bypass their prepaid meters, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said.
This was contained in an amended Order on Unauthorised Access, Meter Tampering and By-Pass released on Tuesday. The fines range between N100,000 and N300,000, depending on the category the customer belongs to.
Maximum demand customers are to pay between 450 and 600 per cent of their last recorded energy consumption if caught in the act of energy theft.
According to the NERC, the Amended Order on Unauthorized Access, Meter Tampering, and By-pass replaces Order No: NERC/REG/41/2017 and has taken effect from January 22, 2025.
The regulator disclosed that the amendment aligns with the Electricity Act 2023 and the Customer Protection Regulations 2023, which allow distribution companies to disconnect unauthorised connections without notice and prescribe reconnection conditions.
The order, it was said, aims to reduce unauthorised access to electricity, meter tampering, and by-pass. It is also to establish transparent reconnection guidelines to ensure compliance.
“Customers who bypass meters or gain unauthorised access must pay administrative charges (including meter replacement costs) and reconnection,” the order stated.
It emphasised that any customer who gains unauthorised access to electricity through tampering or meter by-pass will be reconnected upon payment of the administrative charges including meter replacement cost.
For non-maximum demand single-phase residential customers, the first offence attracts N100,000 and the subsequent offence attracts N150,000.
Also, non-maximum demand three-phase will pay a fine of N200,000 for the first offence and N300,000 for subsequent ones.
Similarly, maximum demand customers are to pay 450 per cent of their last recorded consumption and 600 per cent of it for the first and subsequent offences respectively.
Recently, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company lamented the rise in energy theft.
The DisCo threatened that offenders caught in the act of energy theft would be immediately charged to court, reiterating that the era of merely imposing loss of revenue penalty alone on offenders is over.
Ikeja Electric’s Head of Corporate Communication, Kingsley Okotie, lamented the increase in energy theft, especially following the implementation of the reviewed tariff on Band A feeders.
“The theft is massive and the company cannot guarantee meeting customer expectations if this ugly trend continues. Ironically, some perpetrators believe that if they haven’t been caught, there are no consequences. This is false, and we must change the narrative,” he said.
Okotie stated that for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry to survive, all stakeholders must fight in unison against theft, as the pilfering of electricity hinders the stability of the sector.
Similarly, the spokesperson of Eko DisCo, Babatunde Lasaki, identified energy theft, which includes meter bypass and tampering, illegal connections, and tampering with electrical infrastructure, as a significant challenge facing Nigeria’s power sector.
According to Lasaki, these unlawful activities result in a substantial loss of revenue annually, ultimately affecting the company’s ability to invest in network improvements and provide quality service to paying customers.
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of EKEDC, Mrs Rekhiat Momoh, appealed to customers to support the organisation in its move to eradicate energy theft and other associated illegal activities hindering its growth.
She said, “Energy theft is a menace that we need to eliminate in our network and the power sector. We lose billions annually to it and it affects our ability to invest in network expansion and infrastructure upgrades required to bring the desired stable power supply.”
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