THE Metre Assets Providers program, which was recently slowed down by the National Mass Metering Program, has been restarted by the Federal Government with the help of power distribution firms.
The NMMP initiative, run by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s office, was launched in 2020 to close the significant metering gap in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, or NESI, even though the DisCos’ MAP has been in place for a while.
The FG’s NMMP intervention in Phase 0 was successful in reaching over 800,000 houses, whereas the MAP had only just touched 400, 000 homes by 2020.
Garuba Sanusi, the chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, stated last week that the Federal Government’s NMMP’s Phase 1 was scheduled to start in August and that DisCos had been instructed to resume and speed up on the MAP as a result.
“By the end of August, metres from local manufacturers will be deployed by the DisCos. As a result, DisCos have been ordered to re-open the MAP, and customers are advised to take advantage of the window to purchase theirs if they cannot wait for the free metres,” he said.
He revealed that 45 local meter makers were vying for contracts under the FG’s scheme for meter providers.
Sanusi also noted that the 45 firms had already submitted their bids and that the selection process had started.
“Names of winners of the bid rounds will be announced as soon as the process is completed,” he said.
Phase 1 of the NMMP targets four million households.
Metering Expert and Accountant, Sesan Okunade, stated that NERC should not have stopped the MAP from running in the first place.
“Firstly, I don’t know the reason why NERC stopped the MAP programme that was moving fine. If the programme was not stopped, we would have moved far with the metering gap because customers are ready to pay for the meters. Also, it would have put the DisCos on their toes and reduced the estimated billing being given to customers.
Nonetheless, he said NERC’s order to resume the programme was a welcome development.
“It is still a welcome idea which will allow customers to pay for what is being actually consumed,” he said.
Barr Chijioke James, national president of the Nigerian Electricity Consumers Association, stated that the DisCos needed to take their obligations more seriously.
“Customers have been paying for their meters even when it is Discos’ responsibility to meter every consumer. Even when most consumers pay, it takes some time to be allocated with metres. This is despite the presidential directive on mass production of meters and distribution nationwide to consumers. We believe Discos need to wake up to their responsibility in the power sector,” he said.
