Fine for power theft, illegal connection to be increased from N50,000 to N.2m
To boost deterrence, the recommendations of the 17th power sector stakeholders meeting which included raising penalty for electricity theft from N50,000 to N200,000 is now receiving consideration by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Already, the indebtedness of Discos has been a serious setback and reason why they often reject part of electricity allocated to them by the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
NERC recently said that most Discos were heavily indebted to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc, and the scenario has adversely affected the sector especially in areas of investment and network expansion.
Aggrieved Discos noted at the last meeting that several high profile culprits, including corporate organisations and individuals had been identified and punished in accordingly, but the penalty seems not to be serving the purpose due to its amount when compared to the quantum of electricity they stole.
The stakeholders averred that “the penalty be increased to N200,000 to curb the menace of energy theft and noted that plans were underway to extend the initiative to other states within its franchise area”.
“NERC agreed that the N50,000 penalty was not enough and promised to look into the matter and report back in the coming week,” the document stated.
In an interview, a stakeholder who pleaded anonymity said the indebtedness of Discos and network capacity issues were some of the reasons why the power distributors often rejected electricity load allocated to them.
