FG moves to bring 3m consumers into prepaid metering system

Federal Government is stepping in to see how the gap in prepaid metering in the country is bridged such that the estimated 3 million electricity consumers left out can be brought into the system.

This is happening amid complaints by consumers against crazy billing by the Distribution Companies (Discos) who take advantage of the non-availability of meters to slam unrealistic bills on their consumers. To achieve this, the Federal Government has commenced talks with local manufacturers to roll out meters.

Babatunde Fashola, minister of power, works and housing, met with the local manufacturers in Abuja on Monday. Joined at the meeting were Mustapha Baba Shehuri, minister of state for power, works and housing, and other top officials of the Ministry of Power, including Louis Edozien, the permanent secretary.

Fashola said the meeting became necessary to examine the challenges confronting the local meter manufacturers and see how these could be overcome in order to tap into the immense opportunities in the rapidly emerging electricity industry as a private sector driven enterprise.

According to a report reviewed at the meeting, there are estimated 3 million unmetered customers nationwide, hence the Federal Government’s policy, through the ministry, is to bridge this metering gap as quickly as possible with maximum impact on local manufacturing and employment potentials fully harnessed.

The forum deliberated on issues of concern to government and the local manufacturers, to include the need for Discos to more aggressively patronise locally manufactured meters.

Kola Balogun, one of the representatives of the local meter manufacturers and chairman of Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Limited (MEMMCOL), said access to and cost of credit was a major impediment to the growth of their production capacity in meeting present and future demands for meters.

However, in a communiqué released from the meeting, the local manufacturers assured of their readiness to support the rapid rollout of meters but urged government to put in place clearer incentives for local production as opposed to importation of meters.

Parties at the meeting agreed to continuous engagement among operatives in the sector – government, local meter manufacturers, distribution companies, the industry regulators and other stakeholders in line with the government policy of rapid rollout of meters, while promoting local manufacturing, employment generation and technological development in the country.

Among those in attendance in the meeting were Muideen Ibrahim, executive secretary, Electricity Meters Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (EMMAN), Atilade Bolarinwa, vice chairman of UNISTAR Hi-Tech Systems Limited, Mukhtar Lawal, representative of the Electricity Meter Company Nigeria (EMCON), and Akeem Balogun, executive director, resources, of MOJEC International, among others.