The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has created an application to assist citizens in reporting power outages and interruptions across the nation.
The NERC chairperson, Sanusi Garba, said the initiative is in keeping with the commission’s commitment to enhancing customer service while addressing at the app’s debut on Monday in Abuja.
“I think a lot of you can recall that we recently launched a new consumer protection regulation that provides timelines within which public utilities, and especially distribution companies (DisCos), are required to resolve complaints by customers,” Garba said.
“So, this particular app that we have launched today is supposed to assist the commission in monitoring that DisCos are actually complying with the standards set out in that regulation.”
The app, Garba disclosed was originally developed to sample the quality of power supply, adding that NERC decided that it was better to have live data and effectively monitor DisCos.
He further encouraged Nigerians to channel their complaints through the app, assuring that prompt responses will increase their confidence in the commission and the DisCos.
“We decided to start this launch with Abuja. There’ll be a national rollout for all distribution companies,” he said.
“Such a massive application would require some test run and so on.
“So, AEDC is like a guinea pig for the app but we’ll quickly expedite the rollout to other distribution companies but obviously the DisCos where we are having the highest level of complaints will be ranked higher in terms of the rollout.”