Tag Archives: Consumers

Samsung to Compensate Suppliers Hit by Note 7 Crisis

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Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it would compensate suppliers hit by the decision to scrap its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones because of safety fears with exploding batteries.

The South Korean electronics giant announced a week ago that it was discontinuing the Note 7 after a chaotic recall that saw replacement phones also catching fire.

Samsung said the affair would cost the company an estimated $5.3 billion in lost profits over the three-quarters beginning July.

The crisis also hit its numerous suppliers — who produce everything from camera modules to casings — with their losses estimated at up to $1.7 billion.

“We will offer full compensation for remaining inventories of Note 7 components among our suppliers,” the firm said in a statement.

“We feel sorry for causing concern among our suppliers due to discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7…we will complete the compensation quickly to minimize difficulty faced by them,” it said.

The statement provided no specific figures but said the payout would be calculated according to the different suppliers’ inventory volumes.

Given the Samsung Group’s stature within Asia’s fourth-largest economy — it accounts for around 17 percent of GDP — the Note 7 debacle has had a national impact.

The central Bank of Korea said it had taken the crisis into consideration when it trimmed South Korea’s 2017 growth outlook to 2.8 percent last week from its previous 2.9 percent forecast.

Government Bans Purchase Of Transformers By Electricity Consumers

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The Federal Government has outlawed the procurement of transformers by electricity consumers, maintaining that it remains the duty of distribution companies (Discos).

It also charged operators in the nation’s power sector to improve investments in order to upgrade their networks.

The government equally expressed readiness to offset the electricity bills owed by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) put at N97 billion by the Discos.The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who made the disclosures during a meeting with officials of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (ANED), however, noted that a careful verification of the debts was being carried out to ascertain the exact amount, considering that the sum stretches to several years.

He welcomed any information that could expedite the exercise.

He said: “You must continue to make distribution asset investments. Private purchase of transformers should stop. That is the responsibility of the distribution companies. We still have cases of people buying transformers themselves. This should not be the case.”

Fashola charged the operators to improve customer relationship as well as close the metering gap and educate consumers on energy conservation.

“Since the distribution companies are now owned by private enterprises, you need to make it easy for people to reach you. Let us all understand that the problems we have are not technical. They are manmade,” he noted.

Read More:

http://guardian.ng/news/government-bans-purchase-of-transformers-by-electricity-consumers/

NERC Urges Electricity Distribution Companies To Provide Consumers With Prepaid Meters

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The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has called on electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to “meter’’ consumers, who have paid for various types of meters since November 2013.

The Acting Chairman of NERC, Dr Anthony Akah, made the call in Abuja on Tuesday at a meeting with representatives of distribution companies.

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“Before we conclude our investigation we want to use this opportunity to ask any distribution company that has collected money from any consumer since November 2013 for meter and has not metered him that it is a criminal offence.

“You can’t hold the consumers’ money.

“Between this time and the time we are verifying, find a way to go and meter these consumers, because the kind of complaints we get on our table every day is as huge as this.’’

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According to Akah, it is the responsibility of the distribution companies to provide meters to consumers in line with the tariff model all over the world,.

He said Nigerian electricity consumers were desirous of constant electricity supply in the country.

“Nigerian consumers certainly need 24 hours light that is the most important thing they want to hear.’’

He said the commission’s engagement with the consumers showed that they were dissatisfied with estimated billing rates, noting that they desired an end to unfair estimation.

He said the greatest challenge facing the commission as a regulator was metering, noting that efforts were on to mitigate the challenge.

“We must protect the consumers; there is no going back on our resolve to step up our monitoring mechanism to stop unfair billing of Nigerian consumers. It is grossly unfair.’’

He said that NERC had written to the distribution companies requesting for clear information on the consumers metered over the years.

Credit: NAN

NERC Has Potential to End Plight of Electricity Consumers- Senate

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The Senate commended the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for its prompt decision to address the extortion of Nigerians by electricity distribution companies (Discos).

The Senate in a statement by  the chairman of its ad-hoc Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Dino Melaye, said NERC’s directive to Discos to restructure fixed charges, discontinue estimated billing and bulk metering of consumers, had shown that the commission had the potential to save electricity consumers from the excesses of service providers.

While describing the steps taken so far by NERC as pro-people, Melaye added that the commission had shown that it is a responsible regulatory body.

The Senate had on August 11, asked NERC to immediately ensure that Discos discontinue  the fixed monthly charges on electricity consumption following a motion by Senators Sam Egwu (Ebonyi North) and David Umaru (Niger East) entitled: “Unfair trade practices of electricity distribution companies in Nigeria.”

Read More: thisdaylive