Sabrud Consortium, an indigenous prepaid metre manufacturing company has urged the Federal Government to allow producers sell prepaid metres directly to electricity consumers.
Bright Nwangwu, Chairman of Sabrud Consortium made the call at the unveiling of the company’s Mandatory Compliance and Assessment Programme (MANCAP) certificate for its product in Awka on Tuesday
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Nwangwu said the direct sale would go a long way to achieving the Federal Government’s effort to have all electricity consumers in Nigeria metred in the shortest possible time.
The chartered Engineer said the direct sale and distribution of prepaid metres would increase efficiency in the power sector market and save customers from the perennial nightmare of estimated billing.
He said the best way to solve the problem of low and non-metering of customers was to unbundle the Distribution Companies of the task and allow the product be sold in the open market as was in the past.
According to him, prepaid metre producers had value added capacities that could increase effectiveness of the power distribution policies of government if integrated.
The firm thanked the Federal Government for approving that indigenous firms manufacture prepaid metres operate in the market and also appealed local content policy in the sector should be implemented.
“We appeal to the Federal Government to allow prepaid metre manufacturing firms to sell directly to local customers.
“Prepaid metering is a crime in advanced countries it should be discouraged here; selling director to customers will eliminate the practice.
“We also call on the federal government to enforce local content policy in the sector which says that all government and private companies spent 80 per cent of their procured goods and services on indigenously manufactured metre in order to boost the nation’s economy,” he said.
Also speaking, Chisom Nwangwu, Managing Director of Sabrud assured that the firm was determined to help FG achieve efficiency in the power sector by engaging in international best practices.
He said the firm which had a one million installed capacity and 40 per cent utilisation rate alongside other manufacturers of the products were capable of meeting the national customers’ demand and beyond.
He said the MANCAP certificate was obtained after a rigorous process and promised to sustain it in order to compete favourable in the market place.
