PHOTO: LERC’s Board Chairman, Dr. Lawrence Sekajipo
The Board of Commissioners (BoC) of the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC) has approved the “Guidelines for Customer Complaints and Disputes Resolution” for the electricity sector in Liberia.
The objective of the Guidelines for Customer Complaints and Disputes Resolution is to establish procedures for investigating and hearing of complaints submitted to the Commission by customers who are unsatisfied with the services of electricity operators.
LERC was set up by an Act of the Liberian Legislature to liberalize and improve the country’s electricity market.
According to its mission, “LERC will issue licenses to electricity suppliers, making sure suppliers meet all requirements of quality supply and services and set prices for electricity, not the suppliers themselves. One other key function of the LERC is that it gives voice to electricity customers. They will participate in managing the electricity sector by consulting with LERC and advising on issues affecting them.”
A press release from the LERC says the guidelines was approved on Tuesday, May 26, 2021.
The guidelines will also address complaints from customers who are dissatisfied on how a complaint is handled by an operator.
Now with the approval of the new Guidelines by the BoC, electricity operators will be required to submit to a “Customer Complaints Procedure” for approval by LERC to ensure speedy and effective resolution of customer complaints, the press release added.
The customer complaints report will also be used as one of the benchmarks to assess the performance of the electricity operators by the Commission. A copy of the Guidelines signed by LERC’s Chairman Dr. Lawrence D. Sekajipo is posted on the Commission’s website for stakeholders, operators and the public to access.
The Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission is an autonomous independent entity established by Chapter 13 of the 2015 ELL for the establishment of a national Regulator.