President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that there should be a nationwide mass metering programme for electricity consumers in the country. This is an effort by the Federal Government to put an end to estimated and arbitrary billing for electricity.
This information is part of the press statement issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, and signed by its Executive Chairman, James Momoh.
The statement from NERC reads, “The President has directed that there should be a nationwide mass-metering program in an effort by the Federal Government to put a stop to estimated and arbitrary billing for electricity.”
The Presidency, in its tweet post on its official Twitter handle, stated that the Federal Government is working to ensure that Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) commit to increasing the number of hours of electricity supply every day and also improve on their quality of service.
It also stated that President Muhammadu Buhari remains committed to the protection of poor and vulnerable Nigerians from increased electricity tariff and arbitrary/estimated billings.
The Presidency had earlier announced the approval of a one-year waiver of import levy on electricity meters, so that Nigerians who do not have meters can be supplied as early as possible at a reasonable cost.
It can be recalled that last year, in a bid to fast track the roll-out of meters to electricity consumers, NERC introduced the Meter Asset Providers (MAP) programme.
Under this scheme, the regulation provides for the third-party financing of meters, under a permit issued by the Commission, and amortised over a period of 10 years. The electricity distribution companies (DISCOs), in line with their licensing terms and conditions, are obliged to achieve their metering targets as set by the Commission under the new regulation.
This was slowed down because of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
