NIGERIAN ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION OVERVIEW OF THE IT

NIGERIAN ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION OVERVIEW OF THE IT CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS HANDLING SYSTEM By Dr. Tony Akah General Manager, Government and Consumer Affairs

Outline • Introduction • Attributes of good service delivery • Overview of NERC’s Regulations on Customer Complaints Handling • Status quo and challenges of the existing complaints handling and reporting system • Objectives of the proposed IT complaint management system • Conclusion Electricity on Demand

INTRODUCTION Protecting the rights of consumers is essential to having safe, reliable, adequate and affordable electricity. Collection, collation, analysis and mining of information from consumers and distribution companies are paramount to the protection of consumer rights. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as the sector Regulator is mandated under Sections 32(c) and 80 (b) of the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) ACT 2005 to undertake that core responsibility. Electricity on Demand

WHAT DOES THE CUSTOMER WANT? Quality & Reliability Of Service Easy Payment Mechanism CUSTOMER Prompt Complaint Handling Electricity on Demand Accuracy Of Bill

MANDATE OF THE GOVERNMENT & CONSUMER AFFAIRS DIVISION The Government and Consumer Affairs Division (G&CA) articulates policies that would promote and protect the rights and interest of electricity consumers, the electricity service providers and facilitate the partnerships with stakeholders such as Government towards achieving the mandate of the Commission. Electricity on Demand

-Provisions on Consumer Protection under the Electric Power Sector Reform (ESPR) Act 2005. • Section 80 (1) states that “The Commission shall develop, the following inter alia, instruments for Customer Protections: a) Customer Service Standards b) Customer Complaint Handling Standards and Procedures c) Codes of practice for the provision of assistance to special needs customers, such as the blind or disabled, the elderly or severely ill; d) Procedures for dealing with and assisting where necessary, customers who have difficulty in paying their bills (Power Consumer Assistance fund) Electricity on Demand

NERC CUSTOMER COMPLAINT REDRESS MECHANISM • Customer Complaints Unit (CCU) of the Discos • The Forum • NERC Electricity on Demand

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STATUS QUO AND CHALLENGES • Distribution companies (Discos) and the Forum offices send monthly collated complaints register/reports which contains details of complaints they handled the previous month. • Its in printed hard copy format and most times bulky. • Limited insights from the data. • Analyzing the data and making comparative analysis is cumbersome • Incidence of recycling and submission of previous reports do occur • Verification of the authenticity of the information submitted poses a problem Electricity on Demand

STATUS QUO AND CHALLENGES • Monitoring and benchmarking the Discos and Forum office performance is hindered • Cumbersome and not robust process for decision making • No real time mechanism to ensure prompt and effective intervention to severe complaints that require urgent attention • Irregular submission of the reports Electricity on Demand

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED IT SYSTEM Ensures accuracy of information Standardization of multiple data sources Provides quantitative data for policy formulation Enables NERC to have a real time complete picture of Discos and Forum offices complaint management § Robust reporting mechanism § Facilitates the benchmarking of the Discos and Forum offices § Reliable information portal for the electricity supply industry in Nigeria, especially on consumer related areas. § § Electricity on Demand

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED IT SYSTEM § Web-based system that allows the Commission to have access to the data from anywhere § Sms portal for consumers to submit information or inquire on status of their issues § Ability to send advance alerts to consumers on planned interruptions, adverse weather, energy saving tips, etc § Sms portal to send alert to key staff of the Commission through their mobile phones on severe complaints that require urgent attention Electricity on Demand

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED IT SYSTEM § In-bound, out-bound, and integrated contact management for prompt routing of issues/complaints § On-line and searchable knowledge base as a tool for training and proactive regulation § Data warehouse and business intelligence Electricity on Demand

THANK YOU Website: www. nercng. org E-mail: info@nercng. org Electricity on Demand