Power distributors have declared that they are no longer responsible for the provision of meters to electricity consumers across the country.
It was also gathered
from the Discos that the monetary shortfall in Nigeria’s power had risen to
over N1.4tn despite the marginal improvement in revenue collection by the
electricity distributors on behalf of the industry.
Data obtained in Abuja
on Sunday from the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, the
umbrella body of the Discos, showed that their revenue collection efficiency
increased from the 61 per cent (N363bn) recorded in 2017 to 66 per cent
(N437.9bn) in 2018.
But this was not
enough to address the over N1.4tn shortfall in the sector, just as the
Executive Director, ANED, Sunday Oduntan, stressed that it was no more the
responsibility of Discos to provide meters for customers.
According to him, that
responsibility now lies with the Meter Asset Providers licensed by the Nigerian
Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Oduntan said that with
the licensing of the Meter Asset Providers, the Discos would now concentrate on
addressing other challenges in the power supply business.
He said, “Metering has
been taken off the Discos’ primary responsibility and that is why the Federal
Government through NERC came up with MAPs. In summary, the Meter Asset
Providers are essentially now in charge of metering, not the Discos.
“We are participants;
we have a role to play and we are playing this role by cooperating with them.
But we are not the ones to provide meters to Nigerians, going forward. People
need to understand that and we support anything that will make it possible for
Nigerians to have meters.”
This latest position
by Discos contradicts what the Federal Government announced in August 2018.
The Minister of Power,
Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had announced in August 2018 that power
distribution companies still had the responsibility of providing meters to
customers.
The minister had
stated that the Meter Asset Provider Regulation, which was unveiled by the
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in March 2018, did not completely
remove the responsibility of providing meters by the Discos.
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