Metering is litmus test for NERC’s new chairman
James Momoh, the man taking over the reins at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has a profile that will make you feel inadequate.
He bagged a BSEE degree (1975) from Howard University, MSEE degree (1976) from Carnegie Mellon University, MS degree (1980) in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. degree (1983) in Electrical Engineering from Howard University.
Momoh’s research and professional activities have led to over 225 technical papers in refereed journals, transactions, proceedings and also production of several textbooks in his areas of expertise says his profile on the College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA).
Interestingly, his career is the sort you use as reference during a career counselling session. He was Chair of the Electrical Engineering Department at Howard University and Director of the Center for Energy Systems and Control.
“In 1987, Momoh received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Presidential Young Investigator Award. He was Program Director of the Power program in the Electrical and Communications Systems (ECS) Division at NSF from 2001-2004. Momoh is a Fellow at the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineering (IEEE) and a Distinguished Fellow at the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). He was inducted as a Fellow Member of Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2004,” says his profile on CEA website.
But if there is any lesson from the Nigerian experience, it is that competence is not always a function of academic qualifications. The litany of collapsed buildings and the frequency of misdiagnosis in hospitals the broken power sector evidence the disharmony between knowledge and performance.
The mere fact that it took three years to appoint a NERC chairman in a country with thousands of engineers both at home and abroad, speaks volumes.
For Momoh, how he implements the new Meter Asset Provider (MAP) regulations 2018 which came into effect on March 8 will be the first test of his mettle.
“Consumers must understand what is going on with their metering, what are their rights and so on and so forth; who do they hold accountable, where are the NERC field offices to which they can complain; what is the process of getting remediation for service that is not in sufficient quantity and of quality?” Babatunde Fashola, minister of Power, Works and Housing said at the inauguration of NERC chairman, in Abuja recently.
According to NERC, Nigeria has a metering gap of 4,740,275. Considering that this is just the population of a quarter of Lagos residents, indicates how woefully unreliable this data is. Suffice to say, only about 6 million customers exist on the DisCos’ database.
Many challenges will bog the new regulation. Customers are required to pay a service charge along with the energy charge. They can also buy meter directly from MAPs. Even if we ignore the fact that having customers buy their own meters is an aberration, the imposition of a service charge, is a renewal of an earlier abolished fixed charge and will definitely ruffle feathers.
Following the enactment of MAP regulation, 71 Metering Service Providers (MSPs) have been licensed by NERC but it is not clear the DisCos are willing to work with any. Two months after MAP regulation, the DisCos maintain a deafening silence while having constant meetings with their lawyers. DisCos already have fractious relationship with local meter manufacturers; it is not clear how the new regulation will make them buddies.
Weaning the DisCos off estimated billing, which is the objective of MAPs, is like coming between an addict and his fix. Since 2013, dynamic regulation has been the bane of the power sector. NERC cannot enforce sanctions because it lacks the moral courage to maintain a fair electricity market. Tariff is not cost reflective, DisCos abuse market rules and Fashola constantly tells Nigerians that electricity is in the hands of private business people, yet are not allowed to raise tariff.
Clearly, Momoh will have his hands full, it remains to be seen if NERC under his watch will start behaving like a regulator.
ISAAC ANYAOGU