…Goes Tough Against Erring Eligible Customers
Uche Cecil Izuora
In a significant move to combat energy theft and ensure a steady electricity supply across Nigeria, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has rolled out new directives targeting Distribution Companies (Discos), Generation Companies (GenCos), Eligible Consumers and Large Customers under the Distribution Companies (DisCos).
This bold initiative comes in response to the ongoing challenges faced by the nation’s power sector, where energy theft has undermined the reliability and efficiency of electricity supply.
Following a crucial meeting held in Lagos with stakeholders from Discos, GenCos, Eligible Customers and Large DisCo Customers on the Ikorodu-Sagamu 132kV DC lines, NISO’s Managing Director, Engr. Abdu Mohammed Bello, emphasized the importance of collective responsibility in addressing the rampant issue of energy theft.
The new directives are expected to introduce stricter penalties for those found engaging in fraudulent activities related to electricity consumption. NISO has made it clear that it will take a tough stance against erring Eligible Customers who manipulate meters or engage in any form of energy pilfering.
According to him, NISO hopes to mitigate the financial losses incurred due to energy theft, which have historically impacted the overall stability of the power sector.
Bello said the agency had discovered very high level of Transmission Loss Factor arising from electricity theft along the Ikorodu-Sagamu transmission line corridor, and they have engaged the major stakeholders to address the “very serious issue” and devising a sustainable solution, checks and controls.
According to him, some of the large customers involved in the electricity theft are directly connected to the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company and Ibadan Distribution Company.
“ We discovered that the Ikorodu-Sagamu 132kV double circuit line has a lot of very serious theft issues. The magnitude of the thefts is unimaginable. The theft along that line is close to 180 Mega Watts (MW). So you can imagine losing 180MW, which is almost equivalent to the daily allocation of Jos Electricity Distribution Company.”
“So we decided to carry out investigations and based on our findings, we consulted the regulator of the power sector, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and we made a presentation to them. So they saw the magnitude of it and now supported us that we should take further steps towards addressing this serious menace in the system.
“So we have taken the Ikorodu-Sagamu line as a pilot project because it’s not only that corridor that is having that kind of challenge. Other corridors, too, will be dealt with as soon as we are able to deal with this. We have a standard model framework that we’re going to use to address these steps.”
To curtail these challenges, he said the NISO has rolled out directives affecting the GenCos, Discos and the Eligible Customers.
“We have designed a control measure we’re going to put in place to stop that leakage in that transmission corridor. These will support our operational management of the national grid and make more power available to Nigerians and more revenue available for the electricity market, he said.
The directives, according to him, includes: “The operators should ensure minimum off-take compliance for eligible customers and also metering classification in line with the provisions of eligible customer regulations, 2024 and also in line with the metering code.
“For the Eligible Customers, NISO directed an immediate recalibration of the metering instrument, the current transformers and the voltage transformers, which shall be done by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN),” he stated.
NISO also directed a mandatory installation of check meters and dedicated current and voltage transformers.
He said: “That is a provision of the metering code and in most instances you will see that these check meters are not there. So it’s a mandatory directive we have given them to make sure that the relevant parties install the check meters at each and every interface points.
It also directed full compliance with metering code requirements especially in the area of meters and associated metering installation like CTs and VTs.
“We said henceforth, all of these the meters and the instruments must be fully in conformity with the provisions of the metering code which includes the accuracy class compliance, tamper proof configurations, proper installation of defined interface points and compatibility with real-time monitoring systems,” he stated.
He said NISO shall also immediately constitute a joint task force comprising NISO, TCN, Distribution Companies and relevant enforcement agencies to support us in conducting comprehensive corridor-wide monitoring and simultaneous enforcement across all participants and eliminating systemic loopholes that will prevent the reoccurrence of electricity theft.
Also, he disclosed that market-based sanctions and commercial remedies would now be enforced, noting that all infractions identified would be subject to energy reconstruction and back billing.
“For instance if we discover a theft by any customer, we will make sure that we reconstruct and back-bill for a period of time so that the customer will pay for the loss we incurred over that period of time. And then, we will also slam financial penalties on such erring customers. For persistent offenders we shall disconnect them from the grid or suspend them from the market and shall undergo further regulatory sanctions as determined by the regulators.
The NISO boss assured electricity consumers that the nation’s power sector is improving and that new measures and technologies putting in place would guarantee reliable supply soon.
“We’re improving in the sense that we are deploying technology, systems and processes in place that will ensure lasting and enduring sustainable improvement going forward. I give you an example, where there’s a project on SCADA EMS that is ongoing. It’s a brand new modern SCADA/EMS project. The modern system we’re putting in place to ensure that the grid is better managed and controlled. What we’re doing currently is manual but with these projects in place, the visibility of the system would be enhanced and the management capability and control of the national grid will also be enhanced thereby addressing a lot of these disturbances and system outages.”