Customer Complaint Handling By Electricity Distribution Companies

By Michael Dugeri

Introduction

Public services, such as electricity distribution, play a
critical role in helping nations evolve into modern societies. The
power sector is especially vital because of its profound influence
on other sectors of the economy. Unfortunately, electricity
distribution companies in Nigeria have played almost a reverse
role, being associated with rampant corruption, mismanagement, and
unreliable service provision, thus depriving a vast majority of
their customers from needed services such as the supply, billing,
metering and maintenance of electrical energy.

It has been noted that complaints are a critical element of
consumer contact management. Customers are rarely as motivated to
speak to organisations as they are when something has gone wrong.
While no one likes to hear what they have done wrong, knowing how
to receive, manage and resolve customer complaints can yield
significant insights that can help organisations meet the current
and future needs of their customers.

Beyond making individual customers happy by addressing their
problems, complaints can also be leveraged upon by an organisation
to enhance product development, mitigate risk, and find
opportunities for growth and innovation. Hence, while customer
complaints are often seen as negative events that successful
organisations should avoid; forward-looking organizations see them
as vital inputs for enhancing customer satisfaction and
experience.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is
empowered under the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 (ESPR
Act) to make regulations for the effective operations of
electricity distribution companies. One such regulation is the NERC
Customer Complaints Handling: Standards and Procedures, 2006, which
is made pursuant to section 96 (2) (c) & (d) of the EPSR Act. The
overarching objectives of the Procedures is to establish
institutional framework for addressing Customer complaints, and
also ensure customer satisfaction by creating other avenues of
redressing complaints not properly handled at Distribution company
(Disco) level.

A Complaint is defined as any allegation in writing made by a
complainant, which may include but not restricted to, the
following:

i. There exists a defect or deficiency in the electricity
service provided by the Disco;
ii. An unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practice
undertaken by the Disco in providing electricity services;
iii. The Disco has for the electricity services mentioned in the
complaint, charged a price in excess of the price fixed by the
NERC, for supply of electricity and allied services;
iv. The electricity service provided by the Disco may be unsafe or
hazardous;
v. Recovery of expenses incurred in excess of charges approved by
NERC in providing an electric line or electric plant;
vi. Any other act that affects the fulfilment of the contractual
relation between the customer and the Disco; or is in contravention
of the provisions of any Order of NERC or law for the time being in
force.

By section 3 of the NERC Customer Complaints
Handling Standards & Procedures, every Disco is obliged to set up a
Customer Complaints Unit (CCU) within its premises to which an
aggrieved customer may submit a complaint. The complaint can be
submitted by email and the Disco’s CCU is obliged to resolve same
within 15 days. It is only when the CCU is unable to
satisfactorily resolve the complaint that same is submitted to the
NERC Consumer Forum (“the Forum”), established under section 3 (8)
(9) and (10) the Procedures in Discos’ operating/coverage
areas. The jurisdiction of the Forum is purely civil and it covers
the following:

i. Resolve Customer complaints not attended to at DISCO
level;
ii. Reverse undue charges to an aggrieved party;
iii. Prevent unfair business practices;
iv. Give direction for the withdrawal of hazardous electrical
services being offered;
v. Provide basis for compensating an aggrieved party.

The Forum is required to resolve a complaint before it within 2
months of receiving the complaint.

Both the Disco and the customer have right of appeal to NERC
where a complaint/dispute is unresolved by FORUM. The Appeal must
be submitted within 10 working days of the Forum’s decision. It is
pertinent to note that NERC will not entertain an appeal by an
appellant who, in terms of a decision by a Forum, is required to
pay an amount to a Disco unless that amount has been paid.

It is noteworthy that while the NERC Customer Complaints
Handling Standards and Procedures is a significant improvement over
the former legal regime of complaint management in the electricity
sector, challenges remain to this day. Most of these challenges
relate to inadequate implementation/performance of Discos’ internal
procedures; handling of slippages from the complaint mechanism;
alleged manipulation of the data submitted by Discos; monitoring
compliance of Customer Protection Regulations; optimal operations
of Forum offices; and most crucially, dearth of enforcement
strategies for implementation of Forum decisions.

In conclusion, electricity services consumers must be made to be
more aware of their rights under the law and available channels of
complaint resolution. It is crucial that aggrieved electricity
services consumers are first able to exhaust the three-tiered
complaint resolution framework of the NERC Customer Complaints
Handling Standards and Procedures before resorting to the courts.
This is because in a rising number of cases some courts have upheld
preliminary objections to the effect that the procedure in the NERC
Customer Complaints Handling Standards and Procedures was not first
explored by the claimant before filing court action. This position
is also now being adopted by the Court of Appeal, in its recent
decision in Comag Steel and Construction Company
Limited v. Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc
(Unreported Appeal No: CA/E/100/2020). In this case, the complaint
at the High Court bothered on unreasonable electricity billing,
illegal disconnection. The plaintiff sought orders declaring that
the estimated billing, disconnection, & failure to provide prepaid
meter was illegal and wrongful, etc. A Preliminary Objection
was brought and upheld at the trial High Court, hence the appeal to
the Court of Appeal. In summary, the Court of Appeal (Enugu
Juridical Division) agreed that it was mandatory for the customer
to have followed the procedure laid down in the NERC Customer
Complaints Handling Standards and Procedures of 2006 before
bringing the matter to the court.

The law is settled that where a party fails to satisfy a
condition precedent to the institution of an action, the action
instituted by a party is premature and consequently incompetent.
See Omaliko v. Awachie (2002) 12 NWLR (Pt. 780) 1. It is
only logical that the remedy prescribed by law must be exhausted
before recourse to the law court. See also Ajibi v. Olaewe
(2003) 8 NWLR (Pt. 822) 237. It is important to note therefore the
binding nature of the multi-tier complaint resolution procedure in
the NERC Customer Complaints Handling Standards and Procedures;
whether it constitutes jurisdictional condition precedent to the
commencement of action in court, and the consequences of a party’s
failure to comply.

By Michael Dugeri

Introduction

Public services, such as electricity distribution, play a
critical role in helping nations evolve into modern societies. The
power sector is especially vital because of its profound influence
on other sectors of the economy. Unfortunately, electricity
distribution companies in Nigeria have played almost a reverse
role, being associated with rampant corruption, mismanagement, and
unreliable service provision, thus depriving a vast majority of
their customers from needed services such as the supply, billing,
metering and maintenance of electrical energy.

It has been noted that complaints are a critical element of
consumer contact management. Customers are rarely as motivated to
speak to organisations as they are when something has gone wrong.
While no one likes to hear what they have done wrong, knowing how
to receive, manage and resolve customer complaints can yield
significant insights that can help organisations meet the current
and future needs of their customers.

Beyond making individual customers happy by addressing their
problems, complaints can also be leveraged upon by an organisation
to enhance product development, mitigate risk, and find
opportunities for growth and innovation. Hence, while customer
complaints are often seen as negative events that successful
organisations should avoid; forward-looking organizations see them
as vital inputs for enhancing customer satisfaction and
experience.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is
empowered under the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 (ESPR
Act) to make regulations for the effective operations of
electricity distribution companies. One such regulation is the NERC
Customer Complaints Handling: Standards and Procedures, 2006, which
is made pursuant to section 96 (2) (c) & (d) of the EPSR Act. The
overarching objectives of the Procedures is to establish
institutional framework for addressing Customer complaints, and
also ensure customer satisfaction by creating other avenues of
redressing complaints not properly handled at Distribution company
(Disco) level.

A Complaint is defined as any allegation in writing made by a
complainant, which may include but not restricted to, the
following:

i. There exists a defect or deficiency in the electricity
service provided by the Disco;
ii. An unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practice
undertaken by the Disco in providing electricity services;
iii. The Disco has for the electricity services mentioned in the
complaint, charged a price in excess of the price fixed by the
NERC, for supply of electricity and allied services;
iv. The electricity service provided by the Disco may be unsafe or
hazardous;
v. Recovery of expenses incurred in excess of charges approved by
NERC in providing an electric line or electric plant;
vi. Any other act that affects the fulfilment of the contractual
relation between the customer and the Disco; or is in contravention
of the provisions of any Order of NERC or law for the time being in
force.

By section 3 of the NERC Customer Complaints
Handling Standards & Procedures, every Disco is obliged to set up a
Customer Complaints Unit (CCU) within its premises to which an
aggrieved customer may submit a complaint. The complaint can be
submitted by email and the Disco’s CCU is obliged to resolve same
within 15 days. It is only when the CCU is unable to
satisfactorily resolve the complaint that same is submitted to the
NERC Consumer Forum (“the Forum”), established under section 3 (8)
(9) and (10) the Procedures in Discos’ operating/coverage
areas. The jurisdiction of the Forum is purely civil and it covers
the following:

i. Resolve Customer complaints not attended to at DISCO
level;
ii. Reverse undue charges to an aggrieved party;
iii. Prevent unfair business practices;
iv. Give direction for the withdrawal of hazardous electrical
services being offered;
v. Provide basis for compensating an aggrieved party.

The Forum is required to resolve a complaint before it within 2
months of receiving the complaint.

Both the Disco and the customer have right of appeal to NERC
where a complaint/dispute is unresolved by FORUM. The Appeal must
be submitted within 10 working days of the Forum’s decision. It is
pertinent to note that NERC will not entertain an appeal by an
appellant who, in terms of a decision by a Forum, is required to
pay an amount to a Disco unless that amount has been paid.

It is noteworthy that while the NERC Customer Complaints
Handling Standards and Procedures is a significant improvement over
the former legal regime of complaint management in the electricity
sector, challenges remain to this day. Most of these challenges
relate to inadequate implementation/performance of Discos’ internal
procedures; handling of slippages from the complaint mechanism;
alleged manipulation of the data submitted by Discos; monitoring
compliance of Customer Protection Regulations; optimal operations
of Forum offices; and most crucially, dearth of enforcement
strategies for implementation of Forum decisions.

In conclusion, electricity services consumers must be made to be
more aware of their rights under the law and available channels of
complaint resolution. It is crucial that aggrieved electricity
services consumers are first able to exhaust the three-tiered
complaint resolution framework of the NERC Customer Complaints
Handling Standards and Procedures before resorting to the courts.
This is because in a rising number of cases some courts have upheld
preliminary objections to the effect that the procedure in the NERC
Customer Complaints Handling Standards and Procedures was not first
explored by the claimant before filing court action. This position
is also now being adopted by the Court of Appeal, in its recent
decision in Comag Steel and Construction Company
Limited v. Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc
(Unreported Appeal No: CA/E/100/2020). In this case, the complaint
at the High Court bothered on unreasonable electricity billing,
illegal disconnection. The plaintiff sought orders declaring that
the estimated billing, disconnection, & failure to provide prepaid
meter was illegal and wrongful, etc. A Preliminary Objection
was brought and upheld at the trial High Court, hence the appeal to
the Court of Appeal. In summary, the Court of Appeal (Enugu
Juridical Division) agreed that it was mandatory for the customer
to have followed the procedure laid down in the NERC Customer
Complaints Handling Standards and Procedures of 2006 before
bringing the matter to the court.

The law is settled that where a party fails to satisfy a
condition precedent to the institution of an action, the action
instituted by a party is premature and consequently incompetent.
See Omaliko v. Awachie (2002) 12 NWLR (Pt. 780) 1. It is
only logical that the remedy prescribed by law must be exhausted
before recourse to the law court. See also Ajibi v. Olaewe
(2003) 8 NWLR (Pt. 822) 237. It is important to note therefore the
binding nature of the multi-tier complaint resolution procedure in
the NERC Customer Complaints Handling Standards and Procedures;
whether it constitutes jurisdictional condition precedent to the
commencement of action in court, and the consequences of a party’s
failure to comply.