The Nigerian
Electricity Regulatory Commission has said the obligation to ensure that all
electricity consumers have meters remained with the electricity distribution
companies under Meter Asset Provider Regulations 2018.
“This is consistent
with their respective licensing terms and conditions and Section 4 (1) of the
said regulations that provides that, inter alia, distribution licensee is
responsible for the achievement of metering targets as specified by the
commission from time to time,” NERC said in a statement on Monday.
The regulator was
reacting to a statement by the Association of Nigerian Electricity
Distributors, the umbrella body for the Discos, that Discos were no longer
responsible for the provision of meters to electricity consumers across the
country.
NERC noted that
Section 4 (3) of the MAP Regulation required that all distribution licensees
should engage the services of meter asset providers towards meeting the
metering targets as specified by the commission and in accordance with the
provisions of the MAP Regulations 2018.
It stated that the
Discos were expected to engage MAPs within 120 days of coming into effect of
the regulations.
The commission said,
“The deadline was fixed for July 31, 2018 but was extended to November 30, 2018
to engender more competition between potential MAPs, thus providing better
value for consumers.
“Several of the Discos
experienced slippage in the timeline stipulated by the commission and this
infraction is being handled in line with the enforcement regulations of the
commission.
According to the
statement, the commission is currently reviewing the MAP procurement reports
and successful meter asset providers shall be announced after a meeting with
the Discos and preferred bidders scheduled to hold next week.
“The commission wishes
to reaffirm its commitment to expedite a closure of the current metering gap,
thus limiting the practice of estimated billing to very exceptional cases in
line with the provisions of the MAP regulations,” it added.
The Executive
Director, ANED, Mr Sunday Oduntan, was reported on Monday to have said that
metering was no longer the responsibility of Discos.
According to him, that
responsibility now lies with the meter asset providers licensed by the NERC.
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.
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