The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Tuesday announced the introduction of new penalties for individuals involved in unauthorized access to electricity, meter bypassing, and tampering.

A public notice issued on Tuesday, titled “Amended Order on Unauthorized Access, Meter Tampering, and By-pass,” details the penalties and outlines the changes to the previous regulations.

This amended order, which replaces NERC Order No: NERC/REG/41/2017, came into effect on January 22, 2025.

The amended order aligns with the Electricity Act 2023 and the Customer Protection Regulations (CPR) 2023, empowering Distribution Companies (DisCos) to disconnect unauthorized connections without prior notice and set conditions for reconnection.

The order aims to reduce instances of unauthorized electricity access, meter tampering, and bypassing while establishing clear and transparent guidelines for reconnection to ensure compliance.

Under the new regulations, customers found guilty of bypassing meters or gaining unauthorized access to electricity will be required to pay administrative charges, which include the cost of replacing the tampered meter, along with reconnection fees.

The penalties are as follows: Non-MD Single-phase (residential): N100,000 for the first offence, and N150,000 for subsequent offences; Non-MD Three-phase (residential): N200,000 for the first offence, and N300,000 for subsequent offences; Maximum Demand (MD): A penalty of 450% of the last recorded consumption for the first offence, and 600% for subsequent offences and Reconnection costs are set at N10,000 for non-MD customers, while MD customers will pay N50,000.

The notice further stipulates that if DisCos fail to reconnect a customer within 45 hours of payment, they will be required to compensate the customer with 100% of their daily energy consumption in energy credit.

Customers found guilty of unauthorized access will also be subject to back-billing for lost revenue, calculated at the prevailing tariff.