Power sector operators pledge aggressive meter rollout

Against the backdrop of the faltering and epileptic electricity supply  to Nigerian homes and offices, operators in the power sector met recently in Calabar, the Cross State capital, and took far-reaching decisions, among which was the need for an aggressive rollout of metering for all consumers of electricity in the country.

Following this decision, Eko, Kano, Kaduna and Jos DisCos confirmed plans to aggressively deploy recently procured metering, starting in May 2016 while Abuja DisCo assured the meeting that it had plans to meter 100,000 households by the end of the year, and Port Harcourt DisCo intends to install 110,000 by the end of the year.

The Calabar meeting which was between the Minister of Power, Works and Housing and operators of the Power Sector, was chaired by the Permanent Secretary (Power) of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Louis Edozien, and was held in furtherance of identifying, discussing and finding practical solutions to issues facing the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

A communiqué issued at the end of meeting says the operators committed to treating all decisions made as binding, adding that a unanimous resolution was made regarding strong sanctions against operators who would fail to act on the decisions reached.

“The meeting acknowledged the need to improve on the responsiveness and awareness of the Distribution Companies’ (DisCos’) Customer Complaints Units (CCU), to ensure that all complaints from paying customers are acknowledged and resolved swiftly”, the communiqué disclosed, adding that resolutions were made to publicise dedicated customer complaints lines in four national newspapers in the next two weeks by each DisCo, in order to support this objective.

According to the communiqué, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) informed the meeting of the activation of the agreement between Paras Energy and Eko DisCo to provide 40MW to the Lagos area, as well as the agreement between Ikeja and Eko DisCos, with Egbin power plant for dedicated supply totaling 220MW.

The communiqué reads in part: “The meeting resolved that Port Harcourt DisCo and Calabar and Ibom Power Plants can proceed with their bilaterally negotiated agreement to supply currently stranded power, starting with 150MW to 250 MW. Port Harcourt DisCo will invest in infrastructure in Akwa Ibom and Cross River to receive the power and deliver it to customers at the approved tariff.

“TCN announced that projects critical to improving power distribution in Aja, Kebbi, Kafanchan, Otukpo, Makurdi, Wudil, Afam, Daura, and Kwanar Dangora are completed or nearing completion.

“The meeting acknowledged the shortage of gas, limiting power output from power stations connected to the ELPS pipeline, and supported ongoing discussions between the Minister of Power Works and Housing, and Ministry of Petroleum Resources to facilitate additions in gas supply and the repair of the Forcados Oil Export Line to ameliorate the gas shortage”.

The monthly meeting which was the fourth in the series, had the operators fully represented at the highest executive management levels, including managing directors and CEOs of Generating Companies (GenCos), Distribution Companies (DisCos), and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), as well as various government agencies, such as the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), Gas Aggregating Company of Nigeria (GACN), the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) who are responsible for the regulation and development of the electricity industry.