FCCPC Backs Lagos Regulatory Drive to Eliminate Estimated Electricity Billing

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has formally thrown its weight behind the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC) over a sweeping set of consumer-focused reforms designed to eradicate estimated billing across the state, Technology Times reports.

The national consumer watchdog highly commended the policy directions outlined in the 2025 Lagos Electricity Market Report, which champions stricter enforcement of existing legal provisions against supplying power without functional meters. Central to the state’s strategy is a planned, phased rollout of universal smart metering across Lagos.

To structurally protect consumers and optimize market efficiency, LASERC is deploying a rigorous regulatory framework. Key pillars of the reform agenda include:

• Compulsory Metering: Full enforcement of mandatory metering schedules commencing across the state.
• Feeder-by-Feeder Deployment: A systematic, targeted installation strategy utilizing universal smart meters to ensure complete community coverage.
• Heightened DisCo Oversight: Tighter regulatory policing of electricity distribution companies operating within the state's boundaries.
• Strict Operational Sanctions: Robust enforcement actions and penalties targeted at non-compliant operators.
• Elevated Dispute Standards: The institutionalization of faster, more transparent complaint-resolution mechanisms.

Reacting to the regulatory push, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Tunji Bello, hailed the subnational intervention as a definitive milestone toward restoring consumer confidence and ensuring market fairness.

“Estimated billing remains one of the leading sources of consumer complaints within Nigeria's power sector," Bello stated. "Measures that accelerate metering and improve billing transparency are important to consumer protection and overall market accountability. Effective metering promotes fairness within the electricity market. It supports accurate billing, reduces disputes, improves accountability, and gives consumers greater confidence in the system.”

Bello further called on other subnational governments and state-level electricity regulators across Nigeria to mirror the Lagos framework. He emphasized that as states continue to domesticate and implement localized electricity market reforms, prioritizing transparent metering, clear service delivery standards, and sound consumer safeguards remains vital to building a stable, mutually beneficial power sector nationwide.