The 2018 MAP Regulations: Ending Collection Losses in Nigeria's Electricity Supply Industry

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has issued the Meter Asset Provider Regulations 2018 (MAP-Regs). The MAP-Regs came into effect on March 8, 2018 and will be enforced by NERC from April 3, 2018. These regulations are designed to provide standard rules to eliminate estimated billing practices in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (usually tagged ‘NESI’) and increase the collection rates of the distribution companies. Ultimately, NERC hopes that the MAP-Regs will enhance revenue assurance in NESI. Anyone who is keenly interested in Nigeria’s electricity industry or NESI will agree that reduction of the collection losses of the distribution companies (DisCos) is an urgent need. Hence, the MAP-Regs should be exciting news. However, after studying the MAP-Regs, I had reasons to reflect on whether the new regulations will achieve the desired purpose. This article gives a background of how the collection losses suffered by the DisCos affect the entire industry, highlights measures taken by NERC to remedy this problem till this point, and presents my reflections on the MAP-Regs.