FG, states raise N100bn to procure prepaid meters

Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, says the federal government and the states have raised N100 billion for the procurement of prepaid electricity meters.

Speaking on Tuesday at a press briefing in Ibadan, Oyo state, Adelabu said this is part of the government’s efforts to close the metering gap.

“Mr President has set up what we call the presidential meter initiative (PMI) and set up a presidential meeting council to address this issue,” he said.

“He made me the chairman of this council. The SA on energy to Mr President is the secretary of the council. The mandate we have was to procure and install a minimum of two million meters every year over the next five years.

“In the PMI, we have made good progress in sourcing the fund for this, and it is going to be by a combination of the federal and state governments. Today, we have received, and seen about N100bn fund that will go into the procurement of meters.”

The minister added that the World Bank decided to support Nigeria with the procurement of almost two million meters in the next two years through the distribution sector recovery programme.

Adelabu also said out of the $500 million World Bank loan secured to boost electricity distribution, $200 million would be used for meter procurement, and that had reached an advanced stage.

‘FG TO PROVIDE PREPAID METERS, CONSUMERS TO REPAY IN 10 YEARS’

Adelabu also said electricity consumers who get free prepaid meters will have up to 10 years to repay the cost.

The minister said the cost of meters has been on the increase due to the exchange rates.

He also said funding was a major challenge, however, he said the federal government would fund the meter procurement through different initiatives while the customers pay back over time.

“When the government starts procuring meters, we’ll give it to the customers, and we’ll deduct the money over 10 years. In which case, you will not even feel it at all,” Adelabu said.

PROCESS OF REPAYMENT

Adelabu explained further that a customer who bought an energy credit of N5,000 might have N100 deducted for the ‘free’ meter he got from the government.

“Probably, if you buy a credit of N5,000, maybe N100 will go into the meter that we have given you. So, that’s what we are trying to do. We bring these meters in and reduce the gap that we have in the meters,” he added.

The minister also said many customers are not paying their bills because they believe they are being cheated by the power distribution companies through estimated billing, hence metering would ensure transparency.

“Out of over the 12 million electricity customers we have in Nigeria, only a little over five million is metered. We have over a seven million meter gap today, and these are self-inflicted problems,” he said.

Adelabu added that the sale of meters has been liberalised by allowing customers to buy directly from the vendors and not just the electricity distributing companies (DisCos).