The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has directed distribution companies to issue refunds to Band A customers following grid failures that caused electricity supply to drop below 18 hours daily between February and March 2026. Directive No. NERC/2026/002 mandates a 20 per cent compensation of the affected customer's approved energy cap or average monthly bill for those on the premium tariff. The commission attributed the outages to generation shortfalls caused by inadequate gas supply and vandalism of gas and transmission infrastructure, factors it said were outside the direct control of distribution companies.
Compensation applies only to feeders where average daily supply fell below 18 hours, with customers on 18 to 20 hours covered under an earlier framework. Refunds will be delivered as token credits for prepaid meter users and bill adjustments for postpaid customers. Distribution companies are prohibited from applying compensation credits toward existing customer debt, a move addressing long-standing complaints about utilities absorbing refunds.
NERC confirmed that affected Band A feeders will not be downgraded during the period in question. The commission set deadlines for payout completion: May 31, 2026, for February outages and June 30 for March. DisCos are required to inform customers clearly about the value and duration of compensation received. The commission said it will monitor implementation and verify compliance to ensure eligible customers receive what is due.
NERC is compensating customers for failing to deliver the 20-hour supply promised to those paying premium rates, yet preserving their Band A status despite the shortfall. The regulator acknowledges gas shortages and sabotage disrupted supply, but customers paying the highest tariffs still received unreliable power. Compensation does not restore the service they were promised, nor does it fix the infrastructure failures enabling the two-tier system to underperform. The directive enforces transparency in payouts, but the credibility of premium supply remains undermined by forces the regulator says it cannot control.
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