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Tag: NERC

  • Niger, Benin Republic pay FG N19billion for electricity

    Niger, Benin Republic pay FG N19billion for electricity

    The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Raji Babatunde Fashola on Monday broke a good news to the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) that the Federal Government has received $64,630,055 (N19,712,166,775) electricity bill payment from the Niger Republic and the Benin Republic.

    According to him, the Nigeria Electricity Bulk Trading Company (NBET) is expected to work out the modalities before onward distribution to the DisCos.

    He spoke at the 21st Monthly Power Sector Ministerial /Stakeholders meeting at the Asaba, Delta State that Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC hosted.

    The minister had earlier commissioned the 215MVA Asaba sub-station transformer, which, he said, will reduce the incidence of load shedding in the area.

    But speaking at the meeting, Fashola said that: “I have some good news for you as well. Some money has come in form the power we sell to Benin Republic and Niger Republic. People wonder why this is so. They are a product of treaties and agreements.

    “They also help our own economy.  So we have a total of $64,630,055 that has been recovered. So, NBET will work out the modality for distribution. And hopefully, by next month, you too, should be able to report that you have received an alert.”

    The minister also announced that the Federal Executive Council had on approved to resolve a meter contract dispute that it entered with a contractor since 2003, but the government’s approval last Thursday resulted in a court settlement which implies that the contractor can now have N37billion plus the interest that accrued over the time for provision of meters to the DisCos.

    Fashola urged the interested DisCos to liaise with the ministry and contractor for the supply of meters to their customers, adding that the deal is strictly between the contractor and the power firm while the ministry is only to make the facilitation with the meter supplier.

    He, however, urged the parties to note that the agreements will reach on meter supply will be subject to the regulation that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is about to present.

    His words: “But on a progressive note, I am also happy to report that the approval by the Federal Executive Council to resolve a meter contract dispute entered into since 2003, has now culminated in a court settlement that was concluded on Thursday, the 9th of November. 

    “What that means is that that contractor will now have N37billion plus the accrued interest of the money to make meters available to customers of DisCos. They have to work with the DisCos, so, DisCos who are interested in taking this over should contact the ministry, we will make the facilitation formally with the meters supplier. “We expect this to be a bilateral contract between you and them. We don’t want to get involved. We are just going to create a link and a handshake. Some of you are presumably already talking to them to get ready because you know them. 

    “The agreement you will reach with them will be subject to the regulations that is coming from NERC. So those who are concerned about meters as we promised something is being done and we are moving closer to implementation.”

    He revealed to the stakeholders that the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has completed the guidelines for the operation of the Rural Electrification Fund.

    The minister explained that the fund is to provide partial capital payment (subsidy) rural electricity operators.

    The minister added that ” what the fund seeks to do is to provide a partial capital payment by way of subsidy for technical assistance to eligible private rural power development operators and also to end users for communities for options as hybrid solar and to generally scale up rural access to electricity.”

    He said the fund is to facilitate investment in hybrid mini-grid, solar system and to generally scale up rural access to electricity. 

    The minister noted that those that fund will serve are the unserved rural communities.

    The fund, according to him, will provide a minimum of $10,000 and the maximum amount of $300,000 which 75% of the project cost. 

    He said the REA will publish the guidelines and eligibility criteria in the national newspapers.

    Fashola said that the  Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) has been lucky this year benefiting from the availability of water from the hydro and experiencing peace in the Niger Delta for adequate gas supply.

    He promised that even as the rain is receding, there is sufficient gas available for firing the turbines for adequate power supply for the rest of the year.

    Speaking, the Managing Director, Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Mrs Funke Osibudo had said that there has been a response of the Federal Government to the theft and vandalism of electricity installation through the Inspector General of Police who has established a special anti-vandal response force in the area of operation.

    She also announced that the company was making progress in the management of load and outage management.

    The Chief Executive Officer said that the BEDC has improved its bill collection method with the introduction of the billing calculator.

  • NERC presents eligible customer regulation to Fashola

    NERC presents eligible customer regulation to Fashola

    •Minister urges speedy work on meter regulation 

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has received  the regulations guiding Eligible Customer policy in the electricity sector, with an appeal to the public to take seriously the consultations and stakeholder notices issued from time to time by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

    After the presentation of the Eligible Customer Regulations 2017, to him by the NERC Vice Chairman,  Sanusi Garba, Fashola said such consultations were necessary as decisions taken thereafter would affect members of the public and consumers as well as stakeholders.

    Citing the Eligible Consumer Regulations, Fashola, who noted that the regulations came by consulting with as many people as possible, who will be affected by it and the declaration which he made, pointed out that while the DisCos would be affected in terms of potential revenue impact, consumers would be affected with regards to how they could possibly build distribution assets and how they would get compensated.

    “Members of the public must, therefore, understand that whether it is tariff setting, whether it is Eligible Customer declaration, NERC works, first by consultation, before it makes decisions so that all interests are carried as much as possible,” he said adding: “I want to use this opportunity to say that whenever consultation notices, stakeholder notices are issued by NERC, members of the public should take them seriously.”

    Describing the regulations as “a very important rule”, Fashola, who said it has been much awaited, added: “It will help us to improve the capacity for electricity distribution to consumers, who need them. Consumers, who are willing to make investments in providing distribution assets in a way that it then helps them to recover their costs and so on and so forth.

    “But I will like members of the public to know that the process of making these rules did not come by sitting in the office. It came by consulting with as many people as possible, who will be affected by the regulations and by the declaration that I have made; and I know that DisCos will be affected in terms of potential revenue impact and I believe that this has been taken care of in the regulation,” he said.

    The Minister, who also described the Eligible Customer Regulations as one of the steps in furtherance of the Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP), declared: “This will assist the distribution end when it becomes implementable, the metering programme when the regulations come, when approved, the settlement of DisCo debts, MDA debts and solving the liquidity problem,” adding that everything being done in response to the power value chain was a step to the furtherance of the PSRP.

    Commending the NERC management for its efforts in the production of the regulations, the Minister expressed delight at the presentation, promising to familiarise himself with the document and appealed to the Commission to upload the document on its website for the benefit of the public as well as share with the Ministry “so that all the agencies of government can help you to propagate and advertise this”.

    He, however, called on the Commission to speed up work on the regulation on meter, adding: “Much as we welcome this (Eligible Customer Regulation), I think the regulation that everybody is waiting for is the regulation on Meter. It will be a good thing if you can complete that before this month is over and let us see then how quickly that can stimulate licensing of meter suppliers.”

  • Fed Govt may hike electricity tariff

    Fed Govt may hike electricity tariff

    • • GenCos to NERC: add stranded 2,000Mw to capacity

    The Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing may bow to pressure from electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to hike electricity tariffs as one of the solutions to resolve the crises in the power sector.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Louise Edozien, who gave indication to this yesterday in Jos, lamented that low tariffs remained a stumbling block on the way of developing the power sector.

    He spoke during the opening ceremony of the third National Council on Power (NACOP) meeting held at Crest Hotel and Garden Jos.

    The theme of the meeting is: Completing power sector reforms.

    He said: “I will like to focus on two major challenges of the sector. The first one is how to deliver available power on the grid to consumers, and the second is the problem of debts and other related issues of collection and tariffs.

    “The tariff is too low, and some consumers still don’t pay their bills, in part because the DisCos have not metered them; so they are not sure they are paying for only what they have consumed. So, the DisCos do not pay Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) its full invoice. NBET in turn defaults in payment to the generation companies (GenCos).”

    Meanwhile, the GenCos yesterday urged the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to classify the stranded 2,000Megawatts (Mw) as part of the available generation capacity in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

    The Commission, according to its presentation on the review of the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) methodology by Senior Manager, Market and Rate, Abbah Tera, takes generation capacity as one of the criteria for review of tariff.

    Responding, the Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation  Companies (APGC), Mrs. Joy Ogaji, said  the fact that the stranded capacity is not utilised does not mean that it is not produced by the GenCos.

    She noted that there is enough gas but the only constraint its cost, stressing that the GenCos should not suffer owing to the stranded power.

    She said: “We are not saying we don’t have enough generation. The only constraint that Nigeria is having is the cost of gas. We have over 2,000Mw sitting. The over 2,000Mw should be treated; it is available; GenCos should not suffer for it . In line with the review NERC should capture the stranded capacity.”

    Some of the stakeholders urged the commission to privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) since it is obvious that the Federal Government which operates it has proven inefficient.

    The Commissioner of Engineering Performance and Monitoring, Prof. Frank Okafor, however explained that the cost of funding the transmission network is too enormous for a private company to raise for the operation of the system.

    “It will be difficult to get investors that will fund the TCN,” he said.

    Besides, he said it might be difficult to secure the right of way for the network since it transverse so many states of the federation.

    According to him, government is borrowing from multilateral financial agencies to expand the grid since the amount of power delivery is not sufficient to raise the required revenue.

    The commission maintained that it has met with the TCN and DisCos in order to deliver the stranded power to consumers.

    but for the commission to get stakeholders’ inputs on (the frequency of the review) how often the review should be carried out.

    The stakeholders were also divided on whether the tariff should be reviewed bi-annually, monthly or yearly.

    NERC carries out a major tariff review every five years and minor review every six months.

    But speaking, representative of Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited, Musa Abba Bajoga, urged the commission to follow the global practice to “do what is done universally.”

    The President Hotel Owners Association of Nigeria, Dr. Ezeh Udeh told the commission to consider a yearly review since hotel rates are not reviewed monthly and that any price that rises in the country hardly falls.

    Network of Electricity Consumers Advocacy of Nigeria (NECAN),  Tommy Akingbogun, told the commission not to use its rate to kill investors.

    Edozien said: “Government, as part of the power sector recovery programme approved a N701.9 billion payment assurance guarantee to ensure NBET discharges its obligation to the GenCos.

    “Government has also audited the N27 billion debts owed by Federal Government ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) to the DisCos and is taking steps to pay it.

    “NACOP 2017 is taking place at an important moment in the journey. Our objectives are not met, so much remain to be done. NACOP 2017 is the appropriate forum to access our progress, reaffirm our commitment, examine the challenges of the moment and take decisions to overcome them to ensure this journey achieves the desired outcome.”

    Plateau State Commissioner for Water Resources and Energy, Jafaru Wuyep in his goodwill message on the occasion expressed delight on the proposed Infrastructure Marshall of the Federal Government for the protection of public facilities from vandals.

     

  • GenCos to NERC: add stranded 2,000MW to capacity

    GenCos to NERC: add stranded 2,000MW to capacity

    The electricity Generation Companies (GenCos) on Monday urged the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to classify the stranded 2,000Mega Watts as part of the available generation capacity in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

    The commission, according to its presentation on the review of the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) methodology by Senior Manager, Market and Rate, Abbah Tera, takes generation capacity as one of the criteria for review of tariff.

    Responding to the presentation, the Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), Mrs. Joy Ogaji, said that that the stranded capacity is not utilized does not mean that it is not produced by the generation companies.

    She noted that there is enough gas but the only constraint its cost, stressing that the GenCos should not suffer owing to the stranded power. 

    Her words: “We are not saying we don’t have enough generation. The only constraint that Nigeria is having is the cost of gas. We have over 2,000MW sitting. The over 2,000Mw should be treated, it is available. GenCos should not suffer for it . In line with the review NERC should capture the stranded capacity.”

    Some of the stakeholders urged the commission to privatize the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) since it is obvious that the Federal Government which operates has proven inefficient.

    The Commissioner of Engineering Performance and Monitoring, Prof. Frank Okafor, however explained that the cost of funding the transmission network is too enormous for a private company to raise for the operation of the system.

    “It will be difficult to get investors that will fund the TCN,” he submitted.

    Besides, he said that it might be difficult to secure the right of way for the network since it transverse so many states of the federation. 

    According to him, government is borrowing from multilateral financial agencies to expand the grid since the amount of power delivery is not sufficient to raise the required revenue.

    The commission maintained that it has met with the TCN and DisCos in order to deliver the stranded power to consumers.

    Owing to the appreciation of stranded generation, NERC said that Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has directed it to sell power to eligible customers. 

    NERC however informed the stakeholders that it has already got the go ahead to enact a regulation that will encourage willing seller and willing buyer of electricity. 

    NERC Vice President pointed out that the event was not for a tariff increase but for the commission to get stakeholders’ inputs on (the frequency of the review) how often the review should be carried out. 

    The stakeholders were also divided on whether the tariff should be reviewed bi-annually, monthly or yearly.

    NERC carries out a major review tariff review every five years and minor review every six months. 

    But speaking representative of Mainstream Energy, Solutions Limited, Musa Abba Bajoga, asked the commission to following the global practice to “do what is done universally.”

    The President Hotel Owners Association of Nigeria, Dr. Ezeh Udeh told the commission to consider a yearly review since hotel rates are not reviewed monthly and that any price that rises in the country hardly falls. 

    Network of Electricity Consumers Advocacy of Nigeria (NECAN), Tommy Akingbogun, told the commission not to use its rate to kill investors. 

  • Gencos yet to access N701b power loan – Ogaji

    Gencos yet to access N701b power loan – Ogaji

    • Generating firms record N893b revenue shortfall

    The Electricity Generation Companies otherwise known as (GenCos) are yet to access the power sector N701billion assurance guarantee funds, owing to their inability to meet the Federal Government conditions for it, it was learnt on Monday. 

    The Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), Mrs. Joy Ogaji told The Nation in her Abuja office that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has put a snag of about 10 conditions precedent to accessing the funds which none of the the power generating firms had met. 

    She said that: “Well, to the best of my knowledge, the fund has not been accessed, and as at today (Monday) this morning, they have not yet met the conditions, we call it conditions precedents (CPs) which the CBN gave them to meet. 

    “They are about 10 CPs and they have not met them. And until they meet them, CBN said they cannot release the money.”

    The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola had on August 14, in the last power sector meeting in Kano State announced that some of the policies, programmees, actions which have started taking effect include payment of assurance guarantee of N701 billion.

    But Ogaji noted that the federal government placed the conditions after conducting its due diligence prior to the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    Responding to the Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola’s announcement that any GenCo could invest in meeting, she said the most important thing is to put the right framework for the investors to recoup their money. 

    According to her, from  2013 that the GenCos took over the companies to September 2017, they have recorded a cumulative shortfall from N893billion.

    She explained that “the GenCos have a lot of money at stake in the sector. From 2013 to 2016, were are being owed over N650billion . Then January this year to September if you check an invoice shortfall of about N27billion, you know exactly how much we are owed.”

    Ogaji said that gas is not a major challenge to power generation at the moment, adding that most of the stations have gas waiting to generate power but the transmission networks are too weak to take extra power. 

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), according to her, has just invited the GenCos to a consultative forum on eligible customers that would hold in the six geo-political zones starting on Wednesday in Lagos.  

    All the GenCos have cordial relationships with their host communities where the plants are sited. However, once we are in the raining seasons the hydros have overflowing dams and because the network is preventing them from generating to optimum capacity there is a possibility of water spillage which will affect the communities . I am aware of some communities complaining that the spillage is affecting them. As you know flood is been around everywhere not only in Nigeria. So, the government needs to focus more in the network so that we can generate at optimum capacity and prevent such spillages. There is a community close to Kainji but I don’t know the name.”

  • Ambode seeks NERC’s approval for power generation

    Ambode seeks NERC’s approval for power generation

    Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Friday led a delegation from the state to the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Abuja, to get approval for generation of 3,000Megawatt of electricity in the state.

    The governor said the problem of power generation can no longer be left to the Federal Government alone.

    He also noted that the aspiration to create a secure and prosperous nation that is globally competitive would be difficult to achieve without stable power supply.

    He said: “While the Federal Government continues in its efforts to resolve the power crisis, it has become clear that the problems in the energy sector can no longer be left to the federal government alone to solve.

    “Upon my assumption of office, I made power generation one of my cardinal programmes in Lagos State. Within the first few months in office, our government initiated the Light-Up Lagos Programme as a platform to drive sustainable intervention in street lighting, rural electrification and embedded power.

    “Embedded power was designed as our flagship programme for direct intervention in the power value chain towards achieving a 24-hour power for Lagos.

    “Lagos State has always demonstrated its capacity and willingness to play a leading role in resolving the power sector challenges in the state, subject to the limit of the federal authority allowed regulations.

    “Having succeeded in powering government facilities, the next level of intervention for our government is to collaborate with other stakeholders in the power sector to design and implement a roadmap for uninterrupted power supply to homes and businesses in Lagos State.”

    According to him, the draft of the Lagos State Embedded Power Bill was finalised in May 2017 and submitted to the NERC for clearance before same can be forwarded to the State House of Assembly.

    The governor added: “The stakeholders’ meeting holding today (Friday) is a continuation of the ongoing engagement between NERC and the Lagos State Government on the Lagos State Embedded Power Programme.

    “We are convinced that the offer by our government to deploy the state’s balance sheet in support of power generation, transmission, distribution, gas supply, metering, collection and enforcement in Lagos State will significantly relieve the national grid and free more energy for distribution to other parts of Nigeria.

    “The proposed power programme will generate up to 3,000MW of power through accelerated deployment of various power plants in strategic locations across the state by private sector power providers within three to six years.”

    The state government, he said, would issue guarantees in support of the Power Purchase Agreements that would be signed between the distribution companies and the private sector embedded power providers to enhance bankability of the projects.

     

     

  • NERC to customers: get DisCos’ approval before buying transformers

    NERC to customers: get DisCos’ approval before buying transformers

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has warned individuals and organisations against buying and installing transformers  without the approval of the power distribution company (DisCo) that supervises the community, its Head, Consumer Affairs Division, Hardley Jack, has said.

    Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, he said it was wrong for anybody to bypass the laws guiding the operation of the sector as contained in the Act for the privatisation of the power sector by the government.

    He said the sector may be facing problems such as metering, transformers, and other key components, but it did not give customers the right to do whatever they like.

    He said there are laws, which NERC, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Bulk Trading Company (NBET), the power generation companies (GenCos), electricity distribution companies and other critical stakeholders in the value chain must comply with for the growth of the sector, adding that actions that are contrary to this, amount to disobedience.

    He said the DisCos can solve the metering problems as they affect them directly. He, however, said that gas, power generation and others should be jointly addressed by the stakeholders.

    He said the Commission is flooded with complaints from the customers, just as the DisCos are battling with the same complaints. According to him, DisCos and the customers need to work together to solve problems as partners.

    The Chairman, MEMCOL Nigeria Limited, Mr. Kola Balogun, said the issue of provision of meters can be addressed if stakeholders in the industry are committed to do so. He said the dependence on foreign meter producers by the power firms makes it difficult for many consumers to get meters.

  • Tariff: Appeal Court rebukes judge for denying NERC fair hearing

    Tariff: Appeal Court rebukes judge for denying NERC fair hearing

    •CJ ordered to re-assign case to new judge

    The Court of Appeal in Lagos yesterday came hard on a judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Mohammed Idris, for denying the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) of fair hearing in a suit on electricity tariff increment.

    It held that the judge, who heard the case and restrained NERC from hiking tariff, violated the appellant’s right to fair hearing and thereby committed “a grave error”.

    “The trial court accorded undue reverence and relevance to technicality. The era of technical justice is gone in our courts. Substantial justice is key,” the Court of Appeal held.

    It ordered the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, to re-assign the case to a new judge for adjudication.

    Activist-lawyer Toluwani Adebiyi sued NERC over a planned increase in electricity tariff.

    He argued that tariff could not be increased when there were constant power outages and exorbitant estimated bills.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Tariff hike: Judge erred for denying NERC fair hearing – Appeal Court

    Tariff hike: Judge erred for denying NERC fair hearing – Appeal Court

    The Court of Appeal in Lagos on Monday came hard on a judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Mohammed Idris, for denying the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) of fair hearing in a suit on electricity tariff increment.

    It held that the judge, who heard the case and restrained NERC from hiking tariff, violated the appellant’s right to fair hearing and thereby committed “a grave error.”

    “The trial court accorded undue reverence and relevance to technicality. The era of technical justice is gone in our courts. Substantial justice is key,” the Court of Appeal held.

    It ordered the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, to re-assign the case to a new judge for adjudication. Activist-lawyer Toluwani Adebiyi sued NERC over a planned increase in electricity tariff.

    He argued that tariff could not be increased when there were constant power outages and exorbitant estimated bills.

    Justice Idris made an interim order that status quo be maintained. The order, in effect, barred NERC from increasing the tariff.

    But NERC, through its lawyer Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), of Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors, filed a motion on notice seeking to discharge the interim order.

    Justice Idris, in his ruling, dismissed NERC’s application for being filed outside the seven days prescribed by the court’s rules.

    The judge similarly dismissed NERC’s preliminary objection on the basis that it was also filed out of time.

    Dissatisfied, the Commission challenged Justice Idris’ rulings at the appellate court.

    Delivering judgments in the appeals on Monday, Justice Abraham Georgewill held that judge misused his powers of discretion.

    The appeal court held that the judge “approbated and reprobated” when he heard NERC’s application to regularise its processes, and still set aside the appellant’s motion to discharge the interim order.

    Justice Georgewill said Justice Idris relied on technicality in denying NERC of fair hearing, thereby occasioning a miscarriage of justice.

     

  • DisCos promise to achieve metering soon

    DisCos promise to achieve metering soon

    …Say only MD customers are exempted from payment

     

    The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) promised to achieve metering of their customers sooner than later. It stressed that only Maximum Demand customers are exempted from payment of electricity bills in absence of meters.

    The association that is an umbrella body of the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) Wednesday made the clarification in a statement.

    The statement reads in part: “the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) hereby provides clarification on the information contained in certain recent publications, on the notice issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC) on the metering of Maximum Demand (MD) customers.

    “The publications have, erroneously, stated that the requirement of non-payment of electricity obligations, in the absence of the customer not being provided with a meter, applies to all electricity consumers.  This is incorrect. For clarity, this requirement only applies to, and is specific to MD customers and not residential customers.

    “For further clarity, MD customers are commercial and industrial customers who consume high levels of electricity and contribute substantially to the revenues of Distribution Companies (DisCos). The consumption threshold for MD customers is 45KVA.The MD meters are connected on the 11Kv (High tension wire) electricity lines, mostly on dedicated transformers. The customers include heavy users of electricity like commercial business plazas, large firms, and small-scale industries among others.”

    “We recognize that significant interest in the NERC notice is directly linked to our customers’ requirement that they be metered.  And rightly so.  It is critically important that we state that there is no more interested party in the comprehensive metering of our electricity consumers than the DisCos.  And this is because we understand and fully appreciate the importance of the balance between electricity consumers tracking their consumption versus DisCos having a measure of electricity supplied to their customers, that metering brings. It is our hope and expectation that such metering will be achieved sooner rather than later.

    “While we continue to operate with the estimated billing methodology that is approved and mandated by NERC, we are working diligently towards addressing the metering obligations specified under our Performance Agreements with the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), as well as ensuring that we continue to be sensitive and responsive to the inadvertent challenges of estimated billing that our residential or non-MD customers are faced with.

    “Again, please note that the NERC directive ONLY applies to MD customers and not residential customers. NERC has made the clarification as well, which is available on their website and publicised.”