Since the enactment of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) in 2005 and the establishment of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (“NERC” or the “Commission”), the Commission has published multiple regulations, codes, standards and rules cutting across various aspects of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (“NESI”) in a bid to promote a viable electricity market.
On the 29th of March 2023, NERC issued its Customer Protection Regulations 2023 (the “new Regulations”) whose objectives2 are to provide a regulatory framework for the:
a. Consolidation of extant regulatory instruments on customer protection in the NESI into one instrument;
b. Reinforcement of frameworks for the protection of end-use customers in the NESI;
c. Alignment of NESI’s customer service standards with International best practices; and,
d. Protection of the rights of end-use customers of distribution licenses by specifying the minimum standards of service delivery….