The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has directed the Distribution Company (DisCos) to pay a special compensation for eligible Band A electricity customers affected by grid generation constraints between February and March 2026.
The directive, issued as NERC/2026/002, was due to widespread generation failures across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) during the two-month period, which prevented DisCos from meeting the minimum service levels guaranteed to Band A customers.
NERC attributed the shortfalls primarily to inadequate gas supply and vandalism of critical gas and transmission infrastructure- factors it says were largely beyond the operational control of the distribution companies.
Under the directive, Band A feeders that recorded an average daily supply of between 18 and 20 hours during the covered period will have the existing compensation framework under addendum No. NERC/2024/003 applied to both Maximum Demand (MD) and Non-Maximum Demand (Non-MD) customers.
It also said that feeders that fell below 18 hours of daily supply, a special compensation arrangement applies. Adding that affected feeders will not be downgraded during the coverage period.
NERC said Non-MD customers on such feeders will receive compensation equivalent to 20% of the approved February 2026 energy cap for the affected feeder, while MD customers will receive compensation equivalent to 20% of the average energy billed per MD customer in February 2026.
The Commission revealed that the compensation would be delivered as token credits for prepaid customers and bill adjustments for those on postpaid billing. Saying that DisCos are required to complete compensation for February 2026 by May 31, 2026, and for March 2026, by June 30, 2026.
NERC also put in place consumer protection as part of the directive, barring DisCos from offsetting compensation credits against any existing customer debt.
It said DisCos are required to clearly communicate to each eligible customer the value and period of compensation received.
The Commission said it would continue to monitor implementation and verify compliance to ensure that all qualifying customers receive the full compensation owed to them.
