So far, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the electricity sector regulator has issued permits to third party meter providers affiliated with Abuja, Jos, Ikeja and Benin Disco’s Meter Asset Providers (MAPs), in accordance with section 4(3) of the MAP Regulations to provide electricity customers meters from May 1.
Section 4(3) of the MAP Regulation 2018 requires all electricity distribution licensees to engage MAPs that would assist, as investors, in closing the metering gap and thus eliminating the practice of estimated billing in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. It was envisaged that customers will pay for the meters over a period of 10 years but BusinessDay understands that this may not be the case.
To acquire new meters under MAPs, customers would apply to the DisCo that controls the franchise area he resides. For a single phase meter, MAPs will charge an upfront amount of N36,991.50 and N67,055.85 for three phase meters, the regulation said. BusinessDay gathers that customers may pay more as they could be charged for the full cost of meters including the cost meters, installation, maintenance and replacement of meters over its technical life.
Chuks Nwani, an energy lawyer said this could impact NERC’s objective of closing over 4million metering gap if customers are required to pay the full cost of the meters. “You have to factor in the purchasing power of consumers, how many of them have the capacity to pay for the full cost of the meter? It may only be possible to close 25 percent of the metering gap” Nwani said.
According to the MAPs regulation, customers are obligated to allow Meter Asset Providers access to their facility for periodic inspection of meters to ensure integrity and reading accuracy.
MAP shall arrange for the testing and calibration of customer meters in line with the provisions of the metering code. The MAP shall repair or replace faulty meters within two working days of being notified of such faults. Where a MAP fails in this regard, the customer shall not be liable for the payment of metering service charge for the billing period unless such delays were as a result of inaccessibility to the customer’s premises, says the regulation.
From May 1, accredited MAPs will begin meter distribution. Ikeja Disco has mandated Mojec International Limited to provide 399,790 meters within the framework; Consolidated Infrastructure Group Ltd will provide 397,922 meters as well, while New Hamshire Capital Ltd will give it 276,699 meters, to bring the total number of meters it would procure from them to 1,074,411. No figures were given for the procurements made by Benin Disco
AEDC has appointed Mojec International Limited, Meron Consortium and Turbo Engineering Limited to provide 487,000, 213,000 and 200,000 meters respectively while JEDC has appointed the Triple 7 and Mojec International Limited consortium to provide 500,000 meters.
The Commission says it will monitor closely the rollout plan of distribution licensees and overall compliance with the regulation and various service agreements by the MAP and electricity distribution licensees.
