Joseph Bakare
There are specific expectations from Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) especially in the area of operational efficiency and accountability with the revised Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
This is an addendum to its Order on Performance Monitoring Framework for the DisCos.
The Addendum – 1, issued on December 23 introduced significant updates to the KPIs originally stipulated in the Order issued on July 5.
The revised KPIs will take effect from the first quarter of 2025.
The NERC said the initiative is part of its commitment to ensuring that DisCos delivers improved energy services to consumers while maintaining high accountability and customer satisfaction standards.
According to NERC, “The Order seeks to ensure compliance with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These include accountability by the DisCos’ management, increased operational performance, improved energy delivery to customers, and customer satisfaction.”
The addendum revised three critical KPIs to address gaps in compliance and operational performance related to Energy Offtake Compliance.
Under the addendum, DisCos must now ensure they offtake at least 95 per cent of available nominated energy for two out of three months per quarter and failure to meet this target will result in a 5 per cent reduction in the DisCos administrative operational expenditure for the subsequent quarter.
This adjustment aims to incentivize DisCos to optimize energy delivery to customers.
In the second annex of the addendum labeled Financial Reporting Standards, compliance with the Uniform System of Accounts has been revised from a monthly to a two-month per quarter basis while non-compliance for two months within a quarter will trigger stringent enforcement measures, including the possible withdrawal of the “Fit and Proper” approval for a DisCo’s Chief Finance Officer or equivalent positions.
The third annex addresses Customer Complaints Resolution, the timeline for resolving customer complaints via the NERC Contact Centre and NERC Headquarters has been updated.
“DisCos must now achieve a 75 percent resolution rate for all complaints within a quarter, reflecting an increased focus on customer satisfaction” the statement added