The Ministry of Power has allocated N2bn to meet customers in Band A who are currently without meters.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, made this statement on Friday during the Business Day Energy Conference held in Lagos.
Customers classified as Band A receive a consistent 20-hour power supply and are charged N206 per kilowatt-hour, following the elimination of government subsidies.
Adelabu, the Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, had a visit from Alhaji Garba Sanusi on Thursday to discuss the N20bn.
Adelabu stated that he concurred with the NERC chairman’s proposal to utilize the fund for purchasing meters for Band A customers who have been subjected to underestimated billing by September.
“Yesterday, the chairman of NERC, Alhaji Garba Sanusi, visited my office before I left for the day. We reached an agreement that there is an accrued N20 billion for metering. I suggested that we release the N20 billion to the DisCos so they can purchase meters for the unmetered Band A customers.”
According to Adelabu, that will happen before the end of September.
According to his statement, the power sector will receive 3.5 million meters by the end of the year to boost revenue, considering its current financial challenges.
According to Adelabu, most of the supply will be obtained from international vendors, with a smaller portion coming from local manufacturers due to their limited capacity.
This year, a total of 3.5 million meters will be procured, including 1.5 million meters, with the support of the World Bank. According to him, we will have 3.5 million meters installed by the end of the year.
The minister mentioned that the competitive bidding process for the initial batch of 1.5 million meters has been completed, and the delivery is anticipated in the coming months.
According to a report by the NERC, Nigeria has approximately seven million customers yet to be metered.
After the decline of the naira against the dollar, the NERC decided to deregulate the price of meters, resulting in a significant increase in the cost of the product.
The cost of a single-phase meter can vary depending on the vendor, with prices now exceeding N100,000.