Electricity consumers involved in meter bypass, energy theft, and illegal connections will soon face tighter enforcement as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) partners with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute offenders.

 

NERC chairman Abdullahi Ramat, who awaits Senate confirmation to formally assume office, disclosed the plan via his official X handle. He pledged to champion the deployment of technology as a solution to Nigeria’s persistent power sector challenges.

 

According to him, an upcoming mobile app (for both Android and iOS) will integrate the APIs of DISCOs and the Independent System Operator (NISO) to give NERC real-time visibility of payments, power flows, and system operations.

 

Ramat further revealed plans for a whistleblowing tool, modeled after the community policing LURA app, to enable citizens anonymously report electricity theft, meter bypass, and illegal connections.

 

“We will partner with the EFCC, borrowing a leaf from the successful naira mutilation campaign, to enforce arrests, apply name-and-shame measures, and carry out prosecutions, with penalties of up to three years’ imprisonment, as provided by section 208 of the Electricity Act 2023,” he said.

 

The NERC chairman stressed that eliminating electricity theft would help reduce consumer tariffs, since losses from theft and vandalism are factored into the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO), unfairly burdening honest customers.

 

Highlighting the scale of the crisis, Ramat noted that nearly 50% of generated power is lost, leaving efficiency at half capacity, one reason why the sector suffers from liquidity challenges despite two decades of reforms and over a decade of privatization.

 

He argued that digitisation and IT-driven oversight across the value chain are essential to stabilising the grid, enforcing transparency, cutting losses such as TLF and ATC&C, and boosting investor confidence.

 

Ramat also cautioned that many African governments, including Nigeria, are falling behind as advanced economies embrace blockchain, AI, machine learning, and cloud computing to run their energy and governance systems.

 

“For Nigeria to thrive globally, automation and e-governance must move from aspiration to action. Without urgent reform, we risk sliding into a digital ‘Wild West’ where governments lose the ability to regulate, tax, and safeguard sovereignty,” he warned.