The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has sealed the headquarters of Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC) in Alausa, Lagos, over alleged violations of consumer rights and non-compliance with regulatory directives.
In a statement on Thursday, FCCPC Director of Surveillance and Investigation, Bola Adeyinka, said the enforcement action followed repeated engagements and multiple opportunities given to Ikeja Electric to comply with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018.
“Sealing this facility is a proportionate enforcement measure taken only after repeated engagement and several opportunities for voluntary compliance,” Adeyinka said.
He added that the seal would remain in place “until Ikeja Electric complies fully with the directives issued by both NERC and the FCCPC and provides written evidence of that compliance.”
Reacting to the development, Ikeja Electric’s Head of Corporate Communications, Kingsley Okotie, told Nairametrics that the company was engaging the Commission to resolve the matter quickly. He explained that the dispute stemmed from an isolated case involving a customer who sought multiple meters for the same property.
According to him, the property in question was initially classified as a hotel with a single maximum-demand meter but was later converted to residential use, leading the customer to request 20 non-maximum-demand meters at the same address.
Okotie said the conversion process was complex and had been communicated to the FCCPC. He acknowledged that sealing the headquarters could have disrupted operations, but the company was working to maintain uninterrupted electricity supply.
“Our focus is to ensure supply is not disrupted as long as we have supply on our feeders,” he said, adding that the company remained committed to resolving the issue amicably with the consumer watchdog.
This enforcement comes months after the FCCPC warned both Ikeja Electric and Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) to halt the replacement of Unistar prepaid meters, citing their failure to comply with directives issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Tunji Bello, had noted that NERC’s order mandates power distribution companies to prioritise metering unmetered consumers under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) and strictly follow guidelines when replacing faulty or obsolete meters.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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