Court hears suit against DisCos on estimated billing March 2

An Ikeja High Court has fixed March 2 for hearing of a suit against Ikeja Electric and Eko Electricity Distribution Company over their failure to implement the order capping estimated billing of some of their customers.

Our correspondent reports that the suit, which would be heard before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, was filed by the All Electricity Consumers Protection Forum (AECPF).

The originating summons filed by the group’s lawyer, Mr Olalekan Matti, is supported by a 25-paragraph affidavit deposed to by its National Secretary, Mrs Kehinde Akinloye-Jones.

The claimant alleged that the defendants had failed to comply with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Order on capping of unmetered Residential 2 and Commercial 1 electricity customers.

The group claimed both DisCos failed to comply with the capping Order NO/NERC/197/2020 for a period of 10 months from February 2020 to November 2020 to the consumers affected by the capping Order.

The claimant asked the court to determine whether it was within the power of DisCos to disobey the directives of NERC pursuant to section 63(1) of Electric Power Section reform Act 2005.

They, therefore, asked the court for a declaration that the act of the first and second defendants’ violation of the capping method was unlawful.

The group also asked the court for an order directing the defendants to refund the consumers affected by unlawful billing for the period of 10 months under a repealed estimation billing instead of capping.

The claimant further asked the court to direct the defendants to pay the sum of N500, 000 for the cost of the suit.