Only 217,784 meters installed under $500m power project – Report
The Federal Government’s free electricity metering programme, launched with a $500m World Bank loan to close Nigeria’s metering gap by deploying 3.2 million smart meters, has recorded only 217,784 installations, the latest industry data show.
The development comes despite earlier assurances by the Bureau of Public Enterprises that the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme would deploy 1.2 million smart meters by December 2024 and another 1.3 million by the second quarter of 2025 as part of efforts to eliminate estimated billing and improve electricity distribution across the country.
The BPE had described DISREP as a strategic Federal Government initiative, supported by the World Bank, to improve the financial and technical performance of electricity distribution companies.
Besides deploying 3.2 million smart meters, the programme was designed to reduce aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses, improve billing accuracy, eliminate estimated billing, support DisCos’ performance improvement plans approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and promote local meter manufacturing.
The bureau also said the programme would ultimately distribute two million meters annually from 2025 to bridge Nigeria’s estimated seven million metering gap, while at least 250,000 meters were to be sourced from local manufacturers.
In a nationwide public enlightenment campaign last year, the Presidency, through the State House and the Bureau of Public Enterprises, urged Nigerians to take advantage of the free metering programme, stressing that electricity consumers in Abuja, Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt and Yola Distribution Companies could obtain the meters free of charge.
The government specifically warned consumers not to pay for either the meters or their installation, stating that both were fully funded under the DISREP initiative implemented by the Bureau of Public Enterprises in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power and the Transmission Company of Nigeria.== THE PUNCH ====
