The Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission, EERC, has ordered MainPower Electricity Distribution Company, formerly Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, to refund over 20,000 estimated customers over wrongful billing by the company.
In a public notice issued yesterday, EERC stated that its order was consequent upon many complaints by MainPower’s customers against the firm’s overbilling.
“Pursuant to Section 35 of the Enugu State Electricity Law 2023 and other extant rules, this is to inform customers in Enugu State that the commission has issued an order to MainPower to refund the affected customers the overbilled units for energy consumed in April 2025,” it said.
It said the list of the affected customers has been published on the commission’s website and advised affected customers of MainPower, who are not refunded at the expiration of the timeframe for the refund, to contact the commission via its email for the commission’s necessary action.
The order signed by the Chairman of EERC, Chijioke Okonkwo, and the Commissioner in charge of Market Operations, Barr Reuben Okoye, gave MainPower till July 2025 billing cycle to refund the customers.
It said failure would resort to payment of a fine of N500,000 for each day.
The commission said it started tracking the estimate billing practices of MainPower from October 2024 when it assumed full regulatory control in Enugu State from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and raised the issues with the firm in a letter dated 16th December, which it said MainPower failed to adequately address the issue in their response dated 14th January 2025.
EERC added that in another letter dated 4th April 2025, it further called MainPower’s attention to its continuous estimated billing violations from October 2024 to February 2025 and demanded a significant improvement in the next two billing cycles failing which it would be constrained to commence enforcement action.
“The commission, in its letter to MainPower dated 6th May 2025, called MainPower’s attention to the suspiciously striking similarity between MainPower’s estimated billing reports in February and March 2025; and gave MainPower 14 days from the date of receipt of the letter to provide an explanation, if any.
“The 14 days given to MainPower to respond to the commission’s letter dated 6th May 2025, expired on 23rd May 2025 without any response from MainPower,” it said.
