The umbrella body of the 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos), Association of Nigeria Electricity Distributors (ANED), on Monday, clarified instances where customers are allowed to pay for meters.

It said not all approved metering schemes, currently active in the country, offer meters at no immediate expense to customers.

ANED’s Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Barr Sunny Oduntan, who made the clarifications said the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) currently has two channels through which customers could access meters.

According to him, these include the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) and the Meter Asset Provider (MAP).

He explained that under the NMMP which is a policy intervention by the federal government, with funding from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) meters are provided free of charge to customers but as loans to the electricity distribution companies (DisCos).

On the other hand, he said the second route to obtaining a meter is under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme which was approved in 2018.

He explained that this is available to customers who are not willing to wait for the availability of meters under the NMMP.

In this case, he said customers who opt for this option would be refunded as “the amount paid by the customer will be amortised and refunded over a 36-month period via energy credits.”

He stressed that both options were backed up by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)’s “Meter Asset Provider and National Mass Metering Regulations,” Regulation No. NERC-R-11-2021.

Oduntan maintained that the twin approaches are aimed at closing the metering gap within one to two years, hence reducing estimated billing.

” However, of note is that under the second program, with the advantage of expedited delivery and installation, the customer has to first pay for the meter before being refunded. Ultimately, the meter is free to the customer, via the energy credits,” he said.

He further reiterated that the implementation of Phase 0 (zero) of the NMMP has been concluded by all the DisCos, even as they await the commencement of Phase.

“All the DisCos are finalizing the documentation and disbursement requirements of the funding for Phase 1, with an expected kick-off of the same soonest.

“It is important to clarify that the DisCos are operating within the regulatory guidelines established by their regulator, NERC, relative to meeting customer metering requirements,” he added.

The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, had last week cautioned distribution companies (DisCos) selling meters stating that procurement is free. (Nigerian Tribune)

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